


A Different Dalliance

by StarGirlPotter



Series: Dalliances [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 10:20:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30053964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarGirlPotter/pseuds/StarGirlPotter
Summary: Hermione and Neville begin dating after the events of the Yule Ball. When stress piles on, Hermione finds herself leaning into Ginny's arms as well. Can Hermione ignore the feelings she knows are there, lingering in the back of her mind? Or will she break, falling for not just one but two people?The first few chapters will be Hogwarts-age Neville, Ginny, and Hermione. Nothing lewd will happen when they are literal children. If that is what you want to read, go to another story. Any and all lewd happenings will only be at appropriate ages. Will mention the physical and psychological torture for both Hermione and for Neville (and his parents) - TW tortureAlternative pathing to A Secret Dalliance, following the events post Chapter 12 in ASD. I am a shameless multishipper and while I still want that fic to be purely Neville/Hermione, I cant stop thinking about how I keep inadvertently putting Ginny and Hermione in positions where if I was the reader, I'd be waiting for things to progress over and over. Chapters 1-12 of ASD will be imported as chapters 1-12 of ADD for anyone solely reading this version.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger/Neville Longbottom/Ginny Weasley
Series: Dalliances [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210943
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

** Chapter 1 - Year Four **

Hermione was grinning to herself, having just been asked to the Yule Ball by her now dear friend Viktor. Originally, she had despised the boy's presence in the library, having viewed it as a safe space which was tainted by his fans at any given moment. With time though, she actually had gotten to know the Triwizard champion from Durmstrang, and started to help him find corners of the library where his fans wouldn't chase him so he could still study in peace. 

The two became fast friends as they studied in secret together, and soon Viktor came to ask her to the Yule Ball, saying that she was the only person he could imagine going with, as she saw him as a person and not just a quiddich star or potential Triwizard winner. Accepting to go as friends, Viktor went back to the boat commons that his school arrived in as Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for some dinner. 

On her way to the Great Hall, she turned a corner and crashed fully into somebody, sending them both tumbling to the ground. 

"Oh, Merlin. Are you alright Hermione?" asked the warm voice of her friend Neville. 

"Oh yes, I'm fine. Thank you Neville." She stood up, brushing some dust from her robes as she reached an arm down to help her friend up. "I was just studying in the library for the transfiguration exam we have coming up in a few weeks. Can never get too ahead, can we?"

Neville chuckled in front of her. "Knowing you, I would've thought you had started before now. I should really get started studying as well. Mind if I join you tomorrow?"

"Not at all! You're always welcome to join me. You actually pull your fair share, unlike Ronald," she chuckled at the mental image of him starting to study for anything more than a few days in advance. 

"You know I always do. Oh, I was also hoping to ask you later, but now seems the best time since you don't have your entourage. Would you care to accompany me to the Yule Ball?" Neville asked, looking up at her hopefully. Unfortunately for him, Hermione's face turned crestfallen as she started to speak. 

"Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry. I was actually just asked about an hour ago by one of my friends. I promised him to keep it quiet to avoid rumors, but we are just going as friends. If I had known you were planning to ask me out..." she trailed off, saddened that she couldn't go with her friend. Neville had been her first friend at Hogwarts, and while he had some issues at times, he meant quite a lot to her. She had even started to gain a small crush on him the previous year but was too busy to think much about it.  
  
"Oh, That's alright Hermione. I suppose I should've gotten the courage to ask you out earlier," he replied with a sad smile on his face.

"Oh, Neville! I know Ginny doesn't have a date, and since she is a third year, the only way she can go is if someone in fourth year or above asks her to go. Why don't you maybe try asking her?" Hermione said as the idea burst into her head. Neville nodded to himself, visibly sad but happy to help another friend. Seeing the look on his face, Hermione quickly scanned the corridor and seeing it empty, quickly kissed his cheek and continued speaking. "Oh, and I wouldn't say no to a dance during the ball or a date afterwards."   
  
Before he could respond, Hermione walked off to the Great Hall with a grin on her face, feeling emboldened by the quick peck she left on his cheek. She didn't know yet if he would ask for a dance or if he would ask her to Hogsmeade during the next available weekend, but if nothing else, the butterflies in her stomach from the peck left her feeling giddy and even more excited for the Yule Ball to arrive. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 2 - Year Four**

Two weeks passed as students continued to hunt for prospective dates. Happy to not be a part of the mad dash, Hermione happily went about her days going to her classes, eating meals with her friends, studying more with Viktor in quiet corners of the library, and trying to help Harry figure out his task with the egg. One particular Wednesday during their lunch break, Hermione sat between Harry and Ron as they complained about trying to find dates. Sitting quietly as she read her book while eating her lunch, she was jolted back to the conversation as she heard Ron announce to the table “Oh Hermione, you’re like a girl, right? Would you go to the ball wi-.“ Slamming her book shut, she cut Ron off and started to speak. 

“Honestly, Ronald. I probably would’ve said yes if you had asked to go, but I’ve had a date for ages now. Oh, and I’m not only ‘like a girl’, I am one. Now, if you excuse me, I’m taking my meal elsewhere. Maybe I’ll find someone who is ‘like a friend’ to sit with me.” Grabbing her plate and tucking her book under her arm, she started to walk from the table, hearing Ron complain in the background.

Making the trek back to Gryffindor tower, Hermione muttered the password to the portrait and walked in, placing her food and book onto the table in the common room before breathing a sigh of relief as she sank into the couch. Ron may be her friend, but he can be tiring. Not long after she settled herself in, she heard the portrait door open again and saw Neville walking in. “Erm, I saw what happened there. Are you alright?”

Letting out another sigh of relief at seeing it was only Neville who walked in, she composed herself to talk. “Yes, Ronald can just be frustrating. I obviously don’t mind going to the dance with someone as a friend. I already am. If he had bothered asking at all in the past two weeks, he would’ve known I had a date by now. He’s been in his own little world so much that it feels like he only just remembered I was there. I’m meant to be one of his best friends. I don’t think he realizes just how much it hurts to not be remembered like that.” Hermione caught herself ranting and rambling, getting quiet at the end as she finally verbalized why this felt like such a betrayal. “I don’t want to go with him. What hurts is that he didn’t even remember that I existed until it benefited him, and when he did, he finally realized that maybe, just maybe, I might be a girl too.”

Neville slowly took a seat next to Hermione on the couch and felt her lean her head on his shoulder as her voice got quieter. Wrapping an arm around her back, he started “I’m not trying to dismiss how you’re feeling at all, but men can be utter prats. Myself included. We both know there is good in Ron, but that he can have trouble really seeing others. Maybe Harry isn’t the only one who should be wearing glasses.” Hearing her giggle in response to that, he continued. “I was waiting until a better time to ask, since the Yule Ball is this weekend anyway and I was planning to ask you to Hogsmeade while in a dance when I steal you from your date, but would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me? I’ve been looking for a new Herbology tome and would love to peruse the shelves with you and maybe get a cuppa hot chocolate after, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Hermione tried her best to look inquisitive and pretend that it was a hard decision, but the grin on her face gave away that she was already feeling excited before saying “Hmmm… Alright. But you have to let me get us some sugar quills as well.” At her response, both couldn’t keep large grins from their faces. They sat a bit closer together as they continued to finish their lunch, realizing they had to eat a bit faster to make it to Potions in time next.

As they finished eating and grabbed their books for Potions, Hermione spoke up again with a realization. “Oh, Neville. Would you mind terribly if we don’t tell people about the planned date? I wouldn’t mind people knowing, but Skeeter already has published articles about me trying to seduce all of the Triwizard champions, and I don’t want to add fuel to the fire about me cheating on Harry AND Cedric AND Viktor with you.”

Realization dawned on Neville’s face and he nodded, saying “Of course. My lips are sealed. I wouldn’t kiss and tell anyway, although last time, it was just you who kissed me.”

At that, Hermione began blushing and made an executive decision. “I think you should know who my date to the Yule Ball is, so you won’t be shocked. It’s Viktor.” Seeing the confusion on his face, she continued. “He and I became friends in the library. It turns out he hates the vapid fangirls who follow him around, and my spells to make him unnoticeable in the library in hidden corners made him quite thankful. He knew I wasn’t going to try to jump him for a notch on the bedpost and that I was just nice, and he didn’t want to ask someone to the Ball who would only be going to say they went with him, so I agreed to go as friends with him. We’re going as friends only, nothing more.” She quickly felt the words pour from her mouth yet again and watched as Neville grinned in response.

“You just can’t stop yourself from making friends, can you? Soon I’ll have to guard your door from potential friendship suitors with a bludger bat.” He joked, pretending to hold a bludger bat in front of the common room entrance.

Hermione giggled. “So, you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be? It isn’t as if I don’t know you have other friends. I’m glad you gave him somebody he could trust here at Hogwarts. And don’t worry, my lips are sealed. Both about your date for the Ball and about our date.” He winked before opening up the portrait and holding it open. “After you.” 

Hermione giggled at the silly display at chivalry, knowing the portrait would stay open for the both of them to leave but enjoying the notion nonetheless. They began their trek down to the Potions room, dreading having to face Snape but glad to be able to work next to one another and giggling all the way down.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 3 - Year Four**

Later that night, in the dorm she shared with Lavender and Parvati, Hermione cringed as she heard the sing-song voice from Lavender coming from the curtain next to her four-poster bed saying “So, a little birdy told me you managed to get a date to the Ball! You have to tell us who!” Hermione jumped as she saw Lavender open the curtain on one side of her four-poster bed and then both Lavender and Parvati sit down at the foot of her bed.

“Is who I’m going with really that important?” Hermione said, worried the girls would make Viktor’s name slip from her mouth.

“Of course! If we are all getting ready to impress the men together, we gotta know who everyone is going with so we can look our best!” Parvati exclaimed. Obviously, Hermione would have to be careful here.

“Honestly? He asked to keep it a secret. I already know what I am wearing, and we are going as friends, but he doesn’t want a big fuss made over him.” Whew, all honesty, she thought to herself.

Lavender and Parvati looked at each other and sighed before Lavender spoke saying “Fine, we won’t pry. Would you still like to get ready together though? I’d love to do your hair!”

“I call dibs on doing your makeup!” Parvati interjected. Hermione couldn’t help but nod and chuckle. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad, right?

Hermione was wrong. Sitting still as her dormmates slathered Sleakeasy’s into her hair proved to be difficult. Parvati’s makeup skills had obviously been perfected with practice – Hermione learned that Parvati did both her own makeup and Lavender’s makeup regularly. Hermione’s hair, however, decided that it most definitely did _not_ want to be tamed, and it took both Lavender and Parvati working on it together to tame Hermione’s mane at all. Being jolted back into reality at the sound of Lavender squealing, she was able to hear “Look! Take a look! See our MASTERPIECE!” as Lavender and Parvati held each other’s arms excitedly to see Hermione’s reaction.

Hermione turned to the full-body mirror that Lavender put up and stared in shock. She knew when she chose it that the Periwinkle Blue dress was incredibly flattering, but Parvati did an incredible job at using complementing colors in her makeup to not overwhelm her with blue. Her hair was tamed, falling in gentle waves down her back rather than her usual mess of curls. Looking in the mirror, Hermione felt her eyes start to well up as she realized that she truly felt beautiful.

Before a single tear could be spilled, she felt a spell wash over her and turned around. “Sorry, but I couldn’t let you ruin your makeup that fast. Stasis charm. Only when you decide to wash it off will it come off,” Parvati interjected.

“Thank you. Thank you both.” Hermione managed to croak out as she tugged her dormmates in for a hug.

“Of course. Oh, and call me Lav. I think we’re close enough for that by now.” Lavender said, followed by giggles from all of the girls.

Hermione made her way down from the girls dorms into the common room with Lavender and Parvati, seeing Ginny there in her dress robes. The pale green and pink washed down her body, almost looking like wings. “Oh Ginny! You look like a fairy! You’re beautiful. Would you like to walk with me to wait for our dates?” Hermione offered her arm, and Ginny grabbed on.

“Of course! Lead the way!” Ginny responded, the two girls giggling.

“Lavender, what are you waiting for? I have another arm, you know. Parvati, grab on too. I’m stealing all of the boys dates tonight!” Hermione giggled, and enjoyed the feeling of her friends, new and old, with her as they traversed their way down to the Great Hall which had been transformed for the night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 4 - Year Four**

The girls waited outside the hall for their dates. Lavender’s date showed up first. While Hermione got a weird feeling from Cormac, she shrugged it off since Lavender seemed to be happy to have him escorting her in. Next came Neville, who looked stunned seeing Hermione, but quickly turned his attention over to Ginny. “May we Ginevra?” he asked, puffing his chest up and offering his arm in a very overexaggerated manner.

“We may, Mr. Longbottom.” Ginny replied, puffing her chest up as well and grabbing his arm before they both descended to giggles as they entered the hall. Ginny and Neville may not have had romantic feelings for one another, but they were both friends and were having fun pretending to be High Society wizards for the night.

Soon it was just Parvati and Hermione, though Padma quickly joined them to wait for Ron who had finally asked her to the dance. As Ron showed up with Harry, Ron and Padma made their way in, and Harry and Parvati tried to walk in as well but were stopped by Professor McGonagall. “Mr. Potter, I’m afraid the Triwizard Champions and their Dates need to enter together to present a unified front to the schools. This way.” McGonagall held her arm out to lead the way and began striding in front of Harry and Parvati, and didn’t notice Hermione following as well. As they arrived with Cedric, Cho, Fleur, her date Roger Davies, and Viktor waiting, McGonagall noticed Hermione’s presence. “Miss Granger, I’m afraid this is the area just for the Triwizard Champions and their dates.”

“Da, She is my date.” Viktor interjected, holding his arm out. As Hermione took his arm, he leaned in to whisper “Thank you for coming with me Hermioninny”. Hermione smiled and grabbed his arm as if to say ‘of course’ and got back in line with him. She didn’t mind that he couldn’t fully say her name – he was trying, and that was what counted.

Harry looked in a bit of shock, not having known who Hermione was going with either. Parvati turned around to grab Hermione’s arm and squealed before saying “No wonder you were keeping it quiet! Breathe – let's go out there and dance!”

Hermione grinned at her new friend, looked up at Viktor, and let out a sigh before whispering to him saying “You ready for all of their stares?”

“Always. Let us do this.” He said in response. Grinning, the two waited their turn before waltzing in, feeling the stares of three schools on them as they lead a dance with the other Triwizard champions and their dates.

A few dances in, and Neville and Ginny walked up. “Mind if I steal your date?” Neville spoke. Viktor bowed with one arm out as Ginny grabbed Hermione first and Neville grabbed Krum and began to dance with him. The two girls giggles as they danced, seeing their dates awkwardly dancing and talking to one another.

“I be honest, I thought you were asking to dance with Hermioninny.” Viktor began, leading the dance with Neville.

“I was, but Ginny laid her claim first. It’s alright, I’m patient. Hope you aren’t too disappointed with your new dance partner.”

“Never. You seem nice. I am Viktor Krum.”

“Neville Longbottom.”

“Oh, you are the Neville! Hermioninny talks of you often! I think she likes you.”

Neville blushed before responding. “Yeah, I like her too. I’ll be honest with you, she told me you asked her to the Ball. She asked me to keep it secret for you, so I did. She really respects your privacy. If you hadn’t asked her just before I had, she’d be on my arm.”

“Then I am glad I asked when I did. Hermioninny is only girl here that I know is not after me for autograph. She likes me as friend. She sees me as friend. Not as star.”

“She has a habit of seeing the person beneath. You asked the right person here. Though I will be honest. Ginny, my date, is a quidditch fan. She won’t pry about that though, she just wants to make sure you are good for Hermione. She doesn’t realize it was a friend date yet.”

“Ah, I will assure Ginny that Hermioninny is nice and good friend and I keep her company in library. I do not like dating. I like friends. Hermioninny sees a friend in me and I see a friend in her.”

“I trust you mate, don’t worry. Ginny is protective though. You may have to convince her.”

“Da. I will.”

As the boys danced, the girls began their own dance and chatted idly.

“So, Viktor huh? I should’ve known you’d only have the finest quidditch star on your arm” Ginny began with giggles.

“Oh Ginny! You know I am only here with him as a friend. He’s quite nice when his fans aren’t chasing him around the castle.”

“Oh, I believe it. But don’t think I haven’t seen how you looked at Neville.” At the look of shock on Hermione’s face, Ginny continued. “I know you suggested him to take me, and thank you for that. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this. But I also know who both of you wish you were with.”

Hermione hugged her friend as they danced and quietly spoke. “Please keep it quiet? You’ve seen the rumors already and Skeeter is having a field day with me. I don’t wish to have her try to make fun of Neville next.”

“Of course, my lips are sealed. Now go, dance with the boy quickly so you have a dance before more people ask you to dance. I’ll take my turn with Viktor.” Ginny bowed deep as Hermione curtsied, prompting them both to giggle before they made their way back over to the boys. Ginny grabbed Viktor’s arm saying “My turn. Let's let them have a dance.” As Ginny lead Viktor away for a dance, Neville put his arm on the small of Hermione’s lower back, leading her to a less crowded spot to dance.

“How was your dance with Viktor?” Hermione asked, trying to stifle giggles seeing Ginny dancing with him very sillily, pointing over to make sure Neville could see too.

Neville laughed with her and spoke “It was lovely. Viktor sure knows how to sweep a man off of his feet.”

“Oh, do I have competition now?” Hermione asked with a grin.

“I don’t know. You just might. Though he did tell me about how much you talk about me.” Neville said with a matching grin, watching her start to blush.

“I… may have mentioned you, once or twice. All in passing, of course.”

“Naturally. I did have to tell him that my next Hogsmeade weekend is taken, but I could be persuaded to save the next one for him if you didn’t get me the right flavored sugar quill.”

“Is that a challenge, Mr. Longbottom?” Hermione smirked down at him.

Looking up with a grin, “It just might be,” left his mouth without even thinking. Unfortunately for them, the song came to an end at that moment, prompting him to bow as Hermione curtsied. “Seems my dance is over. Maybe I can steal you away again later.”

“Of course, You’ll just have to find me.” Her eyes traced over to where Ginny and Viktor had been dancing and her face dropped. “Oh no, He has a queue now. A queue! I may need to go save him.”

The two walked over, and as she approached, Viktor mouthed to her ‘It okay, you have fun.” At that point though, Ginny came back to claim her date for the night, and Hermione took herself over to some of the seating to rest her feet. Dancing may be fun, but she had forgotten a cushioning charm for the heels she had gotten specifically for the Ball.

Taking a seat between Harry and Ron, she let out a sigh of relief. Viktor was dancing the night away with someone different for every dance, Ginny and Neville were back to their absolutely horrid high society act which they couldn’t keep up for long before descending into giggles every time, and Lavender seemed to be having fun dancing with Parvati who she reclaimed from Harry’s arms, and Padma who was stolen from Ron. It felt fitting. They had other friends, but it always ended up as just the three of them. It was almost calming.

“So, Krum, eh?” Harry spoke, bringing it up first.

“Yes, Viktor is a perfect gentleman. We’ve gotten close during our time in the library.” Hermione smiled tentatively at Harry. Seeing him smile back at her, she let out the breath she didn’t even know she was holding.

“Oh, so you decided to cuddle up to the _enemy_? Or have you forgotten that he is Harry’s competition?” Ron spat out from the other side of her. Whipping her head around, she saw Ron turning bright red in anger, matching his hair. “Sleeping with the enemy, I had hoped you would choose better. What, are you just there to ride his broomstick, or are you also sharing any information about the tasks with _him_ too?” he spat out.

Feeling the anger rise through her, Hermione debated biting her tongue, but ultimately the anger won out as the words left her mouth without even thinking about it. “Honestly Ronald, whether I was ‘riding his broomstick’ as you so eloquently put it, or not, is ultimately my decision and not yours. If he had asked, I might have decided to help him with his task if Harry was okay with it, but believe it or not, Viktor never asked because he doesn’t think of me as just a tool to help him when he needs. Oh, and if you are going to act this immature, then I won’t be staying.” Turning her head back around to Harry, she grabbed Harry’s hand and gave it a small squeeze before gently saying “Goodnight Harry.” Standing, after she smoothed the skirt out to keep it from staying bunched up, she turned back towards Ron and just said one thing. “Ronald.” She spat out. With her head held high, she walked out of the Great Hall and began her trek back up to Gryffindor tower.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 5 - Year Four**

After about 20 minutes had passed in Gryffindor Tower, some couplings had begun to make their way back to the tower as well to go to some dorms to kiss in the male halves dorm rooms. The girls dorms had its charm still in effect to keep the men out, and a couple of pairings had attempted going up to the girls dorms but found themselves sliding down the staircase. It proved to be quite the amusing show for Hermione, who was sitting in her favorite spot on the common room couch, her legs tucked up under her as she relaxed by the fire. Another 10 minutes had passed as Ginny and Neville walked in, rushing up to her. Ginny got the words out first, draping her arms around her friend. “Are you alright?”

Neville quickly interjected with “Ron came up to us complaining about how you had ‘stormed off’ and we knew we had to come check on you.”

“Oh, you know Ronald. He can be a royal prat.” Hermione said, prompting giggles from Ginny. If anyone understood how much of a prat Ron could be, it would be his little sister. “I was done dancing anyway so he gave me the excuse to make my way back here and to the warm fire. If anything, he did me a favor.” At the word favor, the common room door opened again to another snogging couple. They walked towards the girls tower and Hermione quickly pointed. “Plus, I’ve been getting quite the show.”

Neville looked at the snogging couple confused as to why Hermione just was watching people kiss, but Ginny understood with amusement and began giggling next to Hermione. “Neville, watch with us.” Ginny patted the couch on the other side of Hermione, and soon Hermione was sandwiched with Ginny on one side and Neville on the other as the couple began their climb to the girls tower and then went sliding back down in shock, forgetting the tower turns stairs into a slide when it detects a man on it. The trio held their giggles as the couple debated going up to the boys dorms but then opted to leave the common room and find an empty hallway or classroom. Once the couple left, the trio descended into full raucous laughter

“Okay, now I understand what you meant by the show. That is quite amusing.” Neville smiled once he caught his breath from laughing and tried to quietly grab Hermione’s hand where it wouldn’t be seen by Ginny.

At that, Hermione raised an eyebrow and realized what was happening. “Oh, Neville - don’t worry. Ginny already noticed. She knows. Apparently, you couldn’t keep your eyes off me during my entrance. Or was it Viktor you were staring at?” Hermione grinned, to which Neville replied.

“Well of course. The two of you were stunning, and he was quite the gentleman during our dance. I did warn you that you’d have to fight him for me.”

“Wait, Is there a love triangle around Neville now? I want to get in on this!” Ginny quickly interjected. “Longbottom, you’ll have to fight me for her hand now” she exclaimed, grabbing Hermione’s other hand, prompting the three to descend into more giggles. “Aye, but seriously, you know if you break her heart that I’ll just break you. You two have fun tonight. Don’t make me need to break you Neville.” She said as she began to stand up and walk towards the girls dorm. Waving goodnight, Ginny was gone, and suddenly there was two.

“So… Would you like to accompany me to the library? I can show you one of my quiet corners and we can have our second dance if you’d like.” Hermione looked over hopefully.

“Of course, but isn’t the library closed?” Neville looked confused.

“Oh, Madame Pince gave me special permissions to access the library. Anyone who is with me can come in during late hours. Last year I ran myself too hard trying to have daylight hours to study, so she allows me access to the library at night. This way I’m not sneaking around, and she trusts me in there.” Hermione smiled, remembering the chaos of trying to balance everything with her time turner. She stood up, this time having already cast the cushioning charm on her shoes, and reached her hand out to Neville. “Shall we?”

Neville grabbed her hand and stood next to her, offering his arm for her to grab. As she grabbed it, he responded with a simple “We shall” as they started their walk.

They made their way up to the library and found Hermione’s little hidden nook. Most people never noticed it, but she put up a muffilato and used the disillusionment charm on herself and Neville. “I’ve gotten good at using the disillusionment charm on Viktor for when we study back here so nobody notices him in the library. First time I suggested it, he was surprised I could do it already but thankful for the suggestion. I see no reason why we can’t use it to dance over here, away from prying eyes and ears.”

“You’re utterly brilliant,” Neville felt the words leave his mouth before he realized he said them. Feeling the grin spread on his face, he asked “Care for our second dance now?”

“Yes please, thank you.” As they started dancing completely without music, just swaying, Hermione tucked herself closer in to Neville’s body. She may have been taller, especially in her heels, but just standing and rocking with Neville felt so peaceful.

Nevile, on the other hand, felt his heartbeat pounding through his own chest. He was shocked that Hermione hadn’t noticed it, or if she had, that she wasn’t mentioning it. Fighting the urge to just kiss her, he tried to speak. “So, erm, you really did look quite beautiful. Past tense because I can’t fully see you right now, but I know you still do.”  
Feeling the blush spread through her cheeks, Hermione managed to get out a “Thank you, Parvati and Lav really worked hard on my hair and makeup. They really managed to tame the curls today.”

“It was easy to see just how happy you were with how you looked today, but honestly, I love your curls. They feel powerful on you, like a lion’s mane. It always felt fitting on you.” Neville almost whispered back, not sure how she would respond to that.

Hermione couldn't find the words to respond there. Most people she had encountered didn't see her wild hair as a good thing. She was thankful for the disillusionment charm on herself in that moment to keep him from seeing the blush spread on her face. 

Steeling herself, she mustered up the courage to ask "May I kiss you?"

Neville looked up to where the outline of her head seemed to be and nodded, before he realized she may not have seen it and quickly said "please." He leaned his head up towards her as she leaned down.

Say what you will about these two, but kissing in the dark was not their strong suit. Hermione's mouth landed on his cheek, and Neville's mouth landed on hers, almost by her eye. "Maybe we'll have to wait for a day where we can actually see each other's faces for our first kiss." He spoke, realizing another attempt would likely end in much the same way. The two giggled at their obvious miss and just went back to dancing without music, enjoying just being in each other's arms.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 6 - Year Four**

Neville felt the butterflies in his stomach begin to flutter the next Saturday morn, nervous about the Hogsmeade trip. There was nothing to be afraid of here, but that didn’t matter. All he knew was that there was a quite pretty girl waiting to go to Tomes and Scrolls with him, and he was determined to make the day fun. Pulling on his jumper under his robes, Neville got himself dressed warmly and headed down to meet Hermione in the Great Hall to eat before they went off on their adventure.

Sitting at the Gryffindor table with his back to the doors, Neville began to eat some toast, too nervous to eat anything else. He noticed a mass of curls rounding the table from the corner of his eye and tried not to visibly react too much, opting to wave at Hermione as she looked over with a corner of toast still in his mouth. Seeing her giggle as she sat down, Neville felt relieved and managed to pour himself a goblet of pumpkin juice rather than just water. Today was already off to a good start. He could do this.

After a few minutes, Parvati and Lavender came down and sat on either side of Hermione. Parvati laid her head on Hermione’s shoulder and said “So, are we all meeting up in Hogsmeade later today? We can all go get a butterbeer.”

Hermione almost looked petrified. Before Neville was able to speak, toast still in his mouth, Ginny chimed in for them. “I already asked Hermione to come to the Three Broomsticks later, but she doesn’t know when she’ll be done in the bookstore. She promised Neville to help him find the right book, and you all know how she gets around books.”

“Hey, anytime I’m surrounded by books, I’m in my happy place. I can’t help it if I lose track of time.” Hermione interjected, obviously relieved.

“Yeah, yeah. Just save some time for us to all get some butterbeer later?” Lavender spoke, hopeful to spend more time with the girl who was quickly going from just a dormmate to a friend.

“I think I can handle that. Oh Neville, I think the carriages are now open. Are you all ready to go?” Hermione said, quickly checking the muggle watch on her wrist

“Yep! Got my galleons ready. Let’s go.”

The two got up from opposite sides of the table and waved goodbye. Hermione made a mental note to get Ginny a bunch of Treacle Tarts in appreciation for her help at the table.

Neville and Hermione made their way to a carriage, surprised they had gotten to one alone. While they had gotten to the carriages early, considering they had two other schools in attendance who wanted to see Hogsmeade in winter, the carriages all could’ve easily been gone. Climbing in, the thestrals started their journey as Hermione hopped over to sit next to Neville.

“So… Where should we go first? Straight to the Three Broomsticks? Honeydukes? Or Tomes and Scrolls?” Hermione asked, grabbing Neville’s hand and weaving her fingers between his.

“I was thinking Honeydukes first, since I know you’ll want to spend some extra time in Tomes and Scrolls next, and that way you have something sweet for when you inevitably end up reading in a corner there. Then if we finish quickly in there, Three Broomsticks for the hot chocolate before we go walking in the snow, maybe go back to Tomes and Scrolls if you feel the need to go back, and then back to the Three Broomsticks so you can get your butterbeer with Lavender and Parvati?”

Hermine laughed, “And people say _I_ overthink things! It’s perfect though.” She leaned her head against Neville’s shoulder and after a pause where he could hear the gears turning in her head, she spoke once more. “Are you ready for our first real date?”

“Quite. I’ve been ready since I asked you to the dance, honestly. I’m excited the day is finally here.” At that, the carriage pulled to a stop. Hermione stopped leaning on Neville as the two straightened up to get out. Neville got out first and ran to the other side, opening the carriage door for Hermione. Once they both got out, they watched the carriage start its journey back to the school to bring more students. For now, it seemed to just be the two of them in Hogsmeade, and they were going to have fun.

They walked into Honeydukes first and Hermione grabbed a basket. Tossing two variety packs of Sugar Quills in as well as an extra package of grape sugar quills, she ran up to the pastry counter and got a four-count of treacle tarts to bring back for Ginny. She quickly paid for her treats and went to watching Neville as he seemed to look through the aisles carefully, trying to decide what he wanted to get. After perusing the aisles, Neville grabbed two bags of candy floss in different flavors and went to pay. The duo walked together and left Honeydukes, ducking over to Tomes and Scrolls.

Making it into the bookshop, Hermione took a deep breath in and a smile landed on her face. Hermione grabbed Neville’s hand and dragged him through the aisles to show him different books she had found in the past. Pointing out some Herbology tomes that she thought he might enjoy, having seen his interest in the subject, they started pouring through different herbology books together, talking about which ones they would be getting. After they each bought a couple of different books, they went to sit in the reading nook of Tomes and Scrolls with their new books.

As they sat, Hermione pulled out her Honeydukes bag and spoke quietly. “So, I do believe you issued me a challenge.”

Neville felt a smile appear as he thought back to their first dance during the Yule Ball. “So you remembered! Let’s see how you did, eh?” The grin on his face grew, anxious to see what she chose. Slowly, she pulled out the box of grape sugar quills and the look on Neville’s face turned from bemusement to shock. “Grape?” He asked, a tad confused.

“Well, yes. I had a feeling this might happen, but I do have my reasons for choosing it. You always seem to have the variety packs and you go straight for the Cherry one every time. So at first, I thought that the Cherry was your favorite. Then I realized you always saved the Grape ones for last and you seemed to savor them. They always seemed to be special to you.” At that, she pulled the variety packs out as well and continued. “So, I made sure to get you the variety as well, but extra Grape sugar quills so you don’t have to save them for last, you can just enjoy them as you like.”

The look on Neville’s face moved from confusion to shock as Hermione spoke. For years, he had been given the variety pack from his grandmother and was always told how happy it made her that he went for the Cherry first, like his dad used to. He never realized on his own that no matter what order he ate the other flavors, he saved the Grape for last. He also hadn’t had sugar quills in months, the last time being when his grandmother gave him a couple of boxes to take to Hogwarts on the train. Hermione either had to notice this at the beginning of the year or at some point during third year or even earlier. Neville knew he had his crush on Hermione for a long time, but wondered for just how long it had been reciprocated.

Hermione just noticed Neville not saying anything or smiling and the happiness visibly fell from her face. She thought she had done well, but obviously she had gotten something wrong there. She started to try to stand and maybe give Neville some alone time, but as she began to try to stand from the seated area in the back of the store, Neville grabbed her hand and pulled her back down into a hug. As he regained his ability to speak, he whispered into her ear a simple “…thank you.” As the two slowly pulled from their hug, Hermione and Neville felt themselves leaning back in, resting their foreheads on each other. They looked up and tilted their heads.

This time? There was no disillusionment charm. They weren’t in the dark. Their lips met and it felt as if, at least for now, all was right in the world.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 7 - Year Four**

Hermione found herself studying with Viktor more, studying with Harry more, and “studying” with Neville more (though she had to remind herself they did actually study as well, not just find corners to hold hands in and kiss. That was a large part of their studying, but they did actually study together). As Harry learned from Cedric the secret behind the egg, Hermione gasped in shock. “Tell him. He needs to know.” came from Harry’s mouth and Hermione nodded, rushing to the Durmstrang boat where she knew Viktor dormed. 

Knocking on the door to the boat, one of Viktor’s friends opened the door. She remembered this student was actually from Sweden. She never learned Swedish, opting to learn French instead with her family’s frequent trips to France in the summers, so she spoke in English hoping he understood it. “Please, is Viktor in? I need to talk to him.” He walked off and grabbed Viktor for her. 

“Thanks Johann” Viktor called out as Johann waved before going back in the boat. “So, we need to talk?”

“Yes, care to walk around the lake with me?”

Viktor nodded in response, holding his hands behind his back as he walked with his friend. “So, -”

“Cedric figured it out and told Harry,” Hermione spoke quickly, cutting him off. Realizing she cut him off, she blushed sheepishly. “Sorry, force of habit. Cedric figured out the egg. You need to listen to it underwater. Please, do it soon so you can figure out your plan, and please let Fleur know. I assume she would have figured it out already but just in case, she deserves to know too.”

Viktor nodded slowly. “I will see you in library later, da?”

“Yes. We can discuss the egg’s message together if you like, but I understand if you keep that secret so your plan doesn’t get back to anyone else. I’m friends with too many champions I suppose.” She said with a shrug as he nodded back. They finished their walk around the lake and Viktor went back inside, eager to hear the egg’s message. Hermione took a deep breath and went up to the castle, just wanting to either curl up in her bed or talk to a friend. Either would work. 

Hermione almost made it to Gryffindor tower before bumping into Peeves, quickly running from him before he could register which student he bumped into. Hermione was not in the mood for the poltergeist’s antics. Turning the corner in a hurry, she bumped right into Cormac McLaggen, Lavender’s date to the Yule Ball. The two tumbled to the ground, knocking heads. As he started to stand up, a grin grew on his face that made her feel uneasy as he reached an arm down to help her up. “So Granger, didn't save a dance for me at the ball? I’m crushed”

“I’m sure you are, Mr…?” she trailed off, genuinely not knowing his name. All she knew was his face since he was there with her dormmate and friend. 

“McLaggen. Call me Cormac.” He said with a grin, looking far too full of himself. 

“Right… Cormac. My apologies for the crash. I was-”

“No apologies needed. If a right fit bird wishes to crash into me, I wholly welcome it.” The grin stayed plastered on his face, obviously thinking that his line was meant to woo her. She tried not to show her disgust at being called a “right fit bird”, and at that moment, Neville happened to walk by and noticed her. Seeing her discomfort, he walked up. 

“Hey McLaggen, mind if I steal my study partner back from you? I got worried when she never showed up to the library at our study time, but it seems you were monopolizing her.”

“Ah, apologies Longbottom. Take her, I’m done here. Though maybe later she can show me her own restricted section.” Cormac spoke, wiggling his eyebrows at Hermione before walking off and directly into Peeves path. Neville and Hermione stayed still as they heard Peeve's sing-song voice carry through the hall by them and in the other direction, narrowly missing where they stood.

“Oh Merlin, that boy is a menace,” Neville spoke as they started to walk off towards the library

“And a creep. How much did you hear of what he said to me?”

“I’m fairly certain I heard most towards the end, but I don't know what I might’ve missed before I walked up.”

“Be glad about that. His comments were not pleasant. Please, if you ever see me alone with him, rescue me.”

“With pleasure,” he replied, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. “He won’t have a chance to be alone with you if I’m around.”

“Perfect,” Hermione breathed, leaning her head against Neville’s head. Their height difference made walking like this a tad difficult but she didn’t mind. 

They made their way to the library without being disturbed and found their little corner of the library. Warding it to not be seen or heard, they started chatting about what Harry had discovered. “Wait, they’re hiding something in the lake?!”

“Yep. And he won't know what they’ve stolen of his until the day comes. Or how to go in there and get it. We don't know what creatures are in the lake or how they’ll fight when they see four students swimming at them. I’m worried about Harry. A dragon was one thing - he could avoid it on his broom. But swimming? I don't even think he knows how to swim. His family probably never taught him how.” The look on Hermione’s face was crestfallen. She was obviously incredibly worried and understandably so. Harry always seemed to start the year looking incredibly skinny and in the same old clothes. If his family wasn’t treating him well, it was doubtful they would have taught him to swim in any capacity. It certainly wasn’t something they had learned at Hogwarts.

“I can try to teach him. We have a swimming hole at Longbottom manor. If I ask Professor McGonagall, I’m sure she’d allow us floo access to see my Gran and try to teach Harry to swim. For his safety of course, since if he can't swim, that task will kill him before he reaches any potential water obstacles” Neville offered, trying to think of a way to help Harry. 

To his surprise, Hermione leaned over and quickly gave him a kiss before exclaiming “Neville, you’re brilliant! The best way to start is with a gentle teacher. We need to go find Professor McGonagall and ask her now!”

Hermione grabbed Neville’s hand, pulling him from their wards, and dragged him up to their Transfiguration professor’s office. Knocking on the door, it pushed itself open and a cat was at the door, walking back towards the professor’s desk and sitting in what they knew was Professor McGonagall’s seat. Hermione walked up and pet the cute kitty, speaking softly “I’m sorry kitty, but that’s the Professor’s seat. You can sit with us while we wait for her to get here though. We need to talk to her.” As Hermione scritched under the cat’s chin, the cat purred and turned itself back into Professor McGonagall. 

“Glad to see you two were not trying to sneak something from my office then. What is it you need?” Professor McGonagall spoke, trying to hide the smirk on her face as she saw Hermione’s jaw drop. 

Seeing Hermione was unable to speak, Neville spoke up. “Harry and Hermione figured out the riddle of the egg. It’ll be a task in the water, but Harry doesn't know how to swim. Is it possible for us to floo to Longbottom manor so I can teach him? You can come with us of course to supervise, but before he can even think of a plan to stay underwater, he needs to know how to swim” Minerva quickly understood why the two had rushed there so quickly and nodded. “Yes, that seems most wise. I will floo call your grandmother to make sure she is okay with me taking young Mr. Potter there with you to learn, and assuming she says yes, you will be accompanying me to your home every day after classes to help teach your friend.” Neville nodded, glad to be able to help. 

“Am I able to help as well?” Hermione asked, worried. “I learned to be a muggle lifeguard during the summer and can help if something goes wrong

“I am unsure if Augusta will want more people than necessary there, but that may be helpful. Thank you, Miss Granger. I will ask. If Augusta says yes, I will be calling the three of you to my office directly after Transfiguration tomorrow. You will be excused from History of Magic as long as you agree to study what you missed together.” Hermione and Neville nodded at that. “You are excused.” 

Hermione and Neville ran off to the Gryffindor common room to find Harry and let him know the good news. Harry wasn’t there, so Neville checked the dorm and found him there. Letting him know McGonagall needed to talk to him, Harry left Ron in the dorm and followed Neville out. Neville dragged him into an abandoned classroom with Hermione and Hermione started to speak first. “So, we didn’t fully lie to get you here.”

“Really? Because I don’t see McGonagall here.” Harry joked back, taking a seat on top of one of the desks, waiting to hear why Hermione and Neville dragged him away from his game of Exploding Snap

“Actually, That’ll be tomorrow,” Neville responded. “You want to tell him or should I?”

“I’ll start, thanks Neville. We got to talking about the task to figure out what to do and I realized you probably don't know how to swim. Am I right?” Harry looked shocked but nodded, ashamed to not have even thought of that. “So, we just went and talked to Professor McGonagall.”

Neville interjected and took over. “She is calling my Gran now, but I already know Gran will say yes. Tomorrow, we three are going to Longbottom Manor with Professor McGonagall. Hermione trained to be a muggle lifeguard and will be there to make sure things don't go wrong, and I will help teach you to swim. Professor McGonagall will be there to supervise. We figured at the very least that you should know how to swim so you could make a plan for what to do in the water.” 

Harry looked like he might be about to cry but instead just jumped off of the desk and pulled his friends in for a hug. This wasn’t an answer for how to pass the test, but if nothing else, he’d be able to survive a short swim and have his item released to him after the fact. He just had to survive, he didn’t have to win. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 8 - Year Four**

Hermione made her way back to the Library later to meet with Viktor, as promised. She couldn’t just not warn him that she wouldn't be around as much. He was quite pleasant and a very nice friend. This time, Hermione managed to have a Peeves-free walk to the library, but the drenched robes on Viktor who trudged up as she got to the Library door told her that Viktor wasn’t as lucky. “Sorry, Peeves tends to do that to anyone he comes across. He’s got quite the fondness for muggle water balloons now. At least, I presume that was Peeve’s handiwork?”

“Da. The ghost likes to cause mischief. He got me and my friend. Johann got away faster and is back on boat.” 

Hermione cast a drying charm that Lavender taught her on Viktor. While it was meant to dry hair, it worked on a full body as well. Pleased to see her friend dry, they went into the library to one of the hidden corners. Hermione cast the Muffilato and they were free to speak. “I need to talk to you. I may not be here as often anymore, at least not until the second task happens.”

“Is you okay?” Viktor asked with obvious concern in his voice. His English grammar always got worse when worried. He couldn’t focus as hard on it.

“Yes. Well, no honestly. Harry doesn’t know how to swim so we are going to be trying to teach him before the second task. If he can't survive long enough to find his lost item, he won't be able to even think of a way to breathe underwater.”

“That is big problem. If he not mind help of other champion, I can find many methods for in water while you teach.”

“Oh Viktor, are you certain it won’t get you in trouble?”

“Never. I need research for my way breathe underwater too. Is no problem.” For that response, Hermione kissed her friend on the cheek and held his hand as a way to say ‘thank you’. Neither of them wanted more than friendship and knew that wouldn’t be misconstrued by the other. They were just content to pull out some books and start researching ways to breathe underwater together before Hermione would have to call it a night, unable to help much further research. Unfortunately for them, neither friend noticed the flash of light or other students in the library. They had silenced themselves so no others could hear them, but there were indeed witnesses for the small kiss on the cheek and the hand-hold. 

The next day, Hermione started her day as usual, getting herself dressed. This time though, she transfigured her muggle lifeguard swimming costume shorts into an extra notebook and sandwiched it between her books to ensure she kept it with her. She wore her swimming costume top and yellow lifeguard tank top under her school robes for ease though since those wouldn’t be noticed. She suddenly got an idea and began penning a couple of letters, one to her parents and one to Neville’s Gran. She sandwiched those into her potions text under the cover and took off for the Great Hall, eager for some buttered toast and tea to start her day right. 

Making her way into the great hall, Hermione noticed stares on her. She just kept her head high and walked over to the table, sitting between Harry and Neville, with Ron on the other side of Harry and Ginny across from her. “So, does anyone care to tell me why the school is doing a mixture of just staring at me and staring daggers at me?” Hermione asked, carefully grabbing Neville’s hand under the table. 

At that, Ron huffed and looked away from Hermione, visibly debating walking away or staying to shovel more food into his mouth. Ginny, however, passed the copy of the Prophet over so she could see the cover. There, clear as day, was the headline  **BLOSSOMING ROMANCE BETWEEN GOLDEN GIRL AND CHAMPION** with the picture of Hermione kissing Viktor’s cheek. Ginny spoke up as Hermione’s jaw dropped. “Honestly, anyone who knows you at all can tell that you two are just friends. You kiss everybody on the cheek if they mean something to you. Even as just a greeting or a goodbye”

Harry chuckled at that and went “You really do Hermione.”

“I can't help it if my family has spent quite a lot of time in France. If you don’t kiss someone’s cheek the right number of times there, it is taken with great offense. It seems I have adopted the habit even here.” Hermione blushed before continuing to speak. “Well, at least I cast a silencing charm in the library. Skeeter may have gotten an opportune photo of me with a friend, but she didn’t hear the conversation at least. I swear, there should be a way to shut her up.” 

At that, Ginny crossed the table and had Hermione turn around. She nodded at Neville and Harry. “Ready boys?” They nodded and Ginny counted to three. “One, Two, THREE!” On three, Neville kissed one cheek, Harry kissed the other, and Ginny placed a kiss square on Hermione’s lips. Ginny’s yelling numbers had prompted most of the hall to turn and stare at the goings-on, and Hermione just looked a bit dazed. Ginny had Hermione turn back around and walked back to her seat. “There. Now Skeeter and everybody else will have no clue who it actually is you’re dating, if you even are dating anyone.” She winked and Hermione just started laughing, stunned at the group’s ingenuity. They obviously had planned for this when they saw the article, and Hermione was touched to have such incredible friends. Resisting the urge to lean against Nevile, she just kept holding his hand under the table and settled for being able to kiss him for real later when they had some semblance of privacy. 

Ron sat there slackjawed at seeing his sister kiss Hermione and stormed out of the hall, grabbing handfuls of bacon on his way. Ginny just sat there giggling. Seeing their little brother run out, the twins ran up and chimed in. “The next time you want to-”

“Prove a point like that?”

“Give us a yell.”

“We’re happy to help-”

“And make ickle Ronniekins mad at the same time.” Fred ended as he and George gave Hermione a wicked grin before heading off to their potions lesson. 

“So… Charms then?” Hermione asked, taking a sip of the tea Harry had grabbed for her. He knew she took it with light cream and one sugar, and she was quite glad he had learned it. 

“Let’s go!” Harry said, pulling Neville and Hermione with him. They waved goodbye to Ginny who had her free period now but still joined them for breakfast. 

Once in the hall, Hermione quickly pulled Neville and Harry over to talk quickly. “So, that picture was taken yesterday in the library, because I had told Krum I wouldn’t be in the library as much until after the second task to help you with swimming lessons Harry. He offered to help research methods to let you breathe underwater while we teach you to swim, since he needs to research his own way anyway. While we work on your swimming skills, Viktor will help us find you a way to breathe underwater for long enough to find your item.” 

“That’s fantastic Mione! He doesn’t dislike helping his competition?” Harry asked, worried Viktor may do something to sabotage him since Harry was still against him in this. 

Hermione shook her head. “No Harry, He can see you hate this and didn't enter yourself. I’m pretty sure that everybody can see that honestly. He knows you are just trying to make it out alive and wants to help since he has to do a lot of research anyway.”

This time, it was Harry’s turn to kiss her cheek, though his aim was a tad off and he hit the corner of her lips. Making an uncomfortable face, he apologized for his poor aim but thanked her profusely for the extra help. Hermione couldn’t help but laugh at his fumble and started a light jog to the charms classroom. Holding her books, she couldn't grab the boys, but they kept up alright.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 9 - Year Four**

Classes were rather uneventful for the day, but if anything big had happened, Neville was far too anxious to notice. He would know for certain at the end of Transfiguration whether or not his friends were seeing his home for the first time and that would instantly mean wearing his swimming costume in front of his girlfriend as well as bringing his girlfriend to meet his Gran. 

No pressure, right?

Yeah… Neville realized quickly that most food wouldn’t stay down today, so instead of his usual lunch, he opted for a couple of dry slices of toast. Sitting on the other side of Ron today, he gave himself a few minutes to well and truly breathe in anticipation of the day to come. Hermione took the seat opposite to him and sat next to Ginny, feeling her own nervousness start course through her. Today was likely the day she would meet Neville’s Grandmother, and the thought of that was honestly quite intimidating. She looked over and saw Neville’s near empty plate and decided to mimic him, grabbing toast as well with a goblet of pumpkin juice. She just had to settle her stomach. All would be fine.

As it turned out, all would not be fine today for Hermione. As she walked with Harry, Ron, and Neville to their potions lesson with the Slytherins, they happened to run right into Malfoy and his cronies. Trying to tune them out, Hermione tried to pull on Harry and Neville’s sleeves to stop the fight before it started. It turned out to have been the wrong move to make, as suddenly her mouth felt like it was on fire, blood started pooling in her mouth, and her teeth began growing past her chin. Neville helped to rush her to Madame Pomfrey as Ron and Harry had to deal with informing Snape of their friends' absence. 

Hermione honestly didn’t know just what had happened, but Neville let Madame Pomfrey know while Hermione was sitting there, so Hermione quickly learned. It seemed a spell Malfoy had cast ricocheted off of Harry’s own spell, diverting it into Hermione. Lucky her. Madame Pomfrey had Hermione hold up a mirror and told her to raise her other hand up when her teeth were back to where they had previously been. Seeing that as an opportunity to make her teeth actually fit her mouth properly, she waited an extra moment before raising her hand. Running her tongue over her now properly-sized front teeth, she smiled. “Now,” started Madame Pomfrey, “You’re really quite lucky that the teeth only pierced your lip and didn’t fully rip it off. Healing a cut like this is no issue. Replacing your lip would’ve taken far more time.” Giving Hermione a spoonful of murky-looking liquid, Hermione braced herself for the worst. Surprised by its vaguely minty taste, she felt pain as the lip seemed to sew itself back together and healed quite quickly. Madame Pomfrey also quickly waved her wand, nonverbally vanishing the spilled blood and cleaning Hermione’s robes. “Now, what class am I writing you two a note for?”

“Potions, Madame Pomfrey.” Neville spoke up, giving Hermione a chance to adjust to the feeling of her fresh skin. 

“Hmm, why don't I just add to the note that I had to fully replace the lip so you had to stay all class? Severus doesn’t usually take well to late students, even if they have a valid reason.” Neville looked shocked at the offer and was doubly surprised when Hermione nodded next to him. 

Hermione decided to test her voice now that her mouth had adjusted and with extra enunciation, quite clearly said “Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. That sounds lovely. May we study while we stay here in that case?”

“Of course, Miss Granger. Take your time. I’ll leave you some privacy for your studies.” At that, Madame Pomfrey closed the curtain on her bed, leaving Hermione and Neville to their own devices. 

“I hope you realize I actually do plan to study, Neville. I have a feeling Snape will test us on what we missed today when we come back tomorrow, and we should both be adequately prepared.”

“You’re likely right. Let’s study. We can always talk when we are done and when class would have let out.” Neville pulled his potions book out and placed it on the bed where both students could see it. They began studying together, not noticing Madame Pomfrey peeking in the opening of the curtain, quite pleased that these students were making good use of their time and not just using the hospital bed as an excuse to snog, like she had seen so often. She made a mental note to trust these two and walked back to her main desk, quite pleased indeed.

Eventually, Hermione checked her watch and saw the time, grabbing their note from Madame Pomfrey and thanking her before dragging Neville to Transfiguration. Finally. Just this one class to go and then they’d be helping Harry learn to swim. Hermione and Neville got to the class first, having been far closer than any of their classmates making the trek from their Potions class all of the way in the dungeons. Hermione walked up to their professor and spoke. “Professor McGonagall? We just came here from the hospital wing. I had to have my lip healed and my teeth healed after a particularly nasty jinx hit me in the corridors. We realized we wouldn't have time to give this to Professor Snape before your class started. Is there any way you can pass it to him for us after the special training? I wouldn’t ask, but I don't believe we will have any time to give him our medical note otherwise.” 

“Of course, Miss Granger. I’ll pop it down to him before we leave today. And yes, we will be leaving today.”

Hermione grinned and said “Thank you Professor!” before grabbing Neville’s hand and dragging him to sit next to her. They pulled out their text for the class and started going over the pages written on the chalkboard, eager to get started before the others arrived.

Once class ended, Ron sprinted out, eager to get a snack before his next lesson. He didn’t even stay long enough to hear his professor call out “Potter, Longbottom, Granger? Please stay after class.” 

As he got to his History of Magic class, upon realizing Harry was nowhere to be found, he started to panic. Harry was a danger magnet, and if he wasn't in class, he was most likely in danger. As soon as he asked the first of his classmates, and they informed him “Oh, McGonagall asked him to stay after class,” he realized something must be happening. He was stuck away from the action and stuck listening to Binns drone on about nothing while Harry did Merlin-knows-what. 

What Ron didn’t know, however, was that Harry and Neville were being escorted to their dorms to collect their swimming costumes. Hermione was stunned to hear neither had brought theirs with them for the day, although she supposed Harry had an excuse in not having one and never having needed one before. Neville let him borrow one of his, as McGonagall proudly watched him transfigure it to be smaller to fit Harry properly. It always felt good for her to see a student do well at the subject she tried to teach them. They went back to her office, using it as a floo point. She instructed Neville to go first, so Hermione and Harry would properly hear where to go. At his shouted “Longbottom Manor,” Hermione followed, with Harry next and finally Minerva went last, quite happy to see an old friend. 

Landing in Longbottom Manor was quite wild for Hermione. There were quite a lot of animal pelts on the walls, varying trophies and awards decorating a glass case. She imagined this room was only the beginning of what they would see. Then, she realized there was quite a pointed woman staring, appraising her and Harry, who tumbled out behind Hermione. When McGonagall landed elegantly, the pointed woman had a smile start to appear on her face. “Minerva! A pleasure as always to see you gracing these halls. Are the boys ready to begin?”

“I believe they need to put their swimming costumes on and then they will be. Hermione, are you ready or do you need to change as well?”

“I need to change, Professor. I didn’t believe it would be smart to walk around Hogwarts with my costume on the entire day.” 

“Very well. Augusta, is there a separate room for young Miss Granger to change into her swimming costume?”

“Why of course Minerva. I will bring the boys to their rooms and then Miss Granger to her own. Follow along children, no time to waste.” Augusta Longbottom began walking with long strides, not looking back to see if the kids were following. She stopped abruptly at a guest room and spoke. “Harry, you can change in here. Neville’s room is right across the hall. Neville, go and change. I will bring Miss Granger to her own room.” Nodding at his gran, Neville opened the guest room for Harry and then entered his own, waving goodbye at Hermione.

Hermione and Augusta continued down the hall as Augusta spoke up. “So, am I correct to assume that you are the Hermione that my Neville has been writing so much about and talking about these past few years?” Stunned that Neville’s grandmother had asked about it first, Hermione gathered her wits and tried to speak confidently.

“Yes, Mrs. Longbottom. I became fast friends with your grandson in first year. He means quite a lot to me.”

“Yes, I can tell. He truly is his father’s son. Frank never was able to hide his affections for his Alice, and it seems Neville takes after him even there.” At that, Hermione blushed.

“So, has he told you then?”

“Miss Granger, he didn’t need to tell me. You just did. But, if you need piece of mind, yes he did. He owled to me the day he realized his intentions because of how nervous he was. He’s always struggled with confidence, that boy, and hoped I might have had a story on how his father was able to ask his mum out.”

“Then this makes what I am about to ask you quite a bit easier. I have a letter that I penned for you, as well as one for my own parents if this goes well. I was hoping that I could invite Neville to see my home in muggle London for a week during the summer.” Hermione spoke, incredibly nervous.

“I will say yes, but only under one condition. You must spend a week here as well.” Hermione was surprised at the offer to spend time here in Neville’s ancestral home and nodded, keeping her composure. 

“Thank you, Mrs. Longbottom. May I ask a favor of you?”

“What is it dear?”

“Can we keep this as a surprise for Neville? I fear he may end up far too nervous if he knows ahead of time and I want this to be a happy surprise.”

Augusta had a grin appear on her face, a sight Hermione knew could happen from earlier but a look which felt extremely foreign on the angular woman’s face. “Yes, that sounds like a plan. Now, go get your costume on. You have some swimming to do.” At that, Augusta opened the door to another guest room further down the hall for Hermione and closed it behind her. This witch was quite interesting. No wonder her grandson was quite besotted with her. This summer would be fun. If nothing else, she would see how her future granddaughter-in-law actually acted with her grandson. 

Hermione quickly shed her outer robes, pulling her transfigured cozzy out and transfiguring it back into her lifeguarding shorts. It was quite chilly still in England for this time of year, so Hermione placed a warming charm on herself. No point in staying cold. Once she was properly dressed in her cozzy and her lifeguard outfit over it, she grabbed her towel which she transfigured with her cozzy and threw it over her shoulder, walking out in her outfit and sneakers. She hadn’t brought proper water shoes, so she would just take them off at the lake. Walking back to the room where they had entered, she found Neville and Harry waiting. They too wore muggle swimming trunks, something she found endearing (though it made her wonder what wizarding swimming costumes looked like or if they were any different). Augusta grinned seeing Hermione came with her own towel, and the boys looked sheepish to realize they hadn't even thought to bring their own. Sighing, she cast a wordless Accio and two towels flew into her outstretched hand. The boys both grabbed one and Augusta waved for all to follow her. McGonagall trailed the group, keeping an eye on everything. 

As they arrived at the lake, McGonagall quickly transfigured a few loose twigs into chairs for the women to all sit in. Neville took Harry into the shallow water, both shivering from the cold. Before Hermione could take a seat, she heard teeth chattering and walked up with her wand. “Honestly, you could have thought of this as well.” Casting a warming charm on the boys, she watched them relax quickly and walked away, bringing her chair closer to the water, unaware of the two women smirking behind her. She was already growing on Augusta, who was silently thinking that her boys always choose the best women. It was in their blood.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 10 - Year Four**

Swimming lessons went mostly well. Neville had started teaching Harry the basics, but called Hermione in for extra assistance. Together, they first on dry land had Harry practice the breaststroke arm movements, and then the leg movements. Hermione found a fallen leaf and transfigured it into a kickboard for Harry to put under himself as he practiced and moved to the water. Luckily for all, Harry seemed to be a fast learner when it came to swimming.

They continued to return for swimming lessons for about a week until Hermione was confident that her friend wouldn’t drown when entering water and could use the breaststroke to dive deeper into water should he need. She also owled her parents on the first day, asking if it was possible for them to owl a set of muggle swim goggles to her. They arrived on the fourth day of practice, and after charming them to have Harry’s prescription lenses, he was actually able to see properly while underwater. That problem was taken care of, the problem of whether or not he would just drown was taken care of. ‘Now,’ Hermione thought, ‘all we need is the method for him to breathe underwater.’ 

On their last day there, after Hermione, Harry, and Neville bathed to wash the lake water off, the boys watched as Hermione walked up, cast the drying charm on them all, then turned to face Mrs. Longbottom. She curtsied using her robes and carefully spoke. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Longbottom. We appreciate it very much.”

“My pleasure, but Miss Granger, I do insist that you call me Augusta now.”

“Of course, Mrs. Lo-, I mean, Augusta.” After curtsying again, she raised her head and said “And when you are ready, please call me Hermione. It was wonderful to be here and to meet you. I do hope we meet again.” Smiling at Neville’s Grandmother, Augusta grinned back with a bigger smile than Neville had ever seen before. He watched as Hermione also handed his grandmother a letter, smiling back at his Gran. He stayed composed while in his family home, but after Professor McGonagall had them floo back with a shout of “Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall’s Office”, his jaw dropped and he asked “How did you get her to love you so fast?” 

“It’s a talent. Parents love me, and I suppose in this case, grandparents love me as well.” As Hermione spoke, Neville had to fight the urge to kiss her in front of their professor and Harry who had just flooed in behind them, tumbling out of the fireplace and covered in soot. Harry had still yet to master the art of flooing. Vowing to kiss her later in his own head, Neville cast a cleaning charm on himself, his professor, and his friends to remove the soot. With a smile from McGonagall who thought ‘Not my subject, but he did that charm quite excellently.’, she dismissed the group to go back to the common rooms or to the Great Hall to eat. Swimming did have the habit of making you quite hungry, as Harry quickly found out. 

The group started on their way to the Great Hall as Hermione realized she still needed to send her parents their letter. She edited the one asking to have Neville over during the summer to ask if she could spend a week at his house as well, but waited to mail hers out until Augusta had seen her more to ensure she would be welcome at the Longbottom house. Having just given her boyfriend’s grandmother her address, it was time to mail her letter to her parents. “Oh, Harry. I need to owl my parents. Mind if I borrow Hedwig?”

“Not at all Hermione. We’ll meet you at the Great Hall, right Neville?” Harry asked, and Neville looked conflicted. He wanted to go with Hermione, especially since the owlery would likely not have others present so he could kiss her safely. On the other hand, they were all just swimming and he was quite hungry.

“Yeah, we’ll meet you there. Or would you rather eat first and then go to the owlery?” Neville asked, hopeful she would understand why he wanted to wait. 

Hermione thought for a moment and as her stomach audibly growled, she responded “Yeah, I should probably eat first. You’re right. I’ll borrow Hedwig later.” 

Harry looked stunned and joked “Hermione admitting someone else was right? Who is this person polyjuiced as my best friend?” With an evil grin on his face, he started laughing as Hermione chased him to whack his arm. Neville grinned, just following him. This year may be hectic, but it has most definitely been a good year so far. 

The three ate so fast that the table thought they had been learning how to eat from Ron. Food disappeared from their plates incredibly quickly that week. Ron had learned why after the first day, having been told about the swimming lessons and why it was just those three. He was upset at first but it was Neville’s home and Hermione was an actual lifeguard for her local muggle pool when needed, so even he could admit that it made sense to have them there. 

Having shoveled their shepherds pie into their faces, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all quickly drank their pumpkin juice, though Harry, Hermione, and Neville did need two refills. They were quite dehydrated. They finished and the four made their way out of the Great Hall. As they walked, Ron spoke first. “So, who is up for a game of wizarding chess?” Harry remembered Hermione needed to mail an owl so he spoke up. 

“I’ll play you Ron. I still need to get better anyway. Will you teach me as we go?”

“You know I will, mate. Let’s go.” The two walked off and Harry waved at Hermione, nodding as permission to go borrow Hedwig. 

At that, Neville said “So, owlery time?”

“Yep. Let’s go.” They began their trek up to the owlery, which was up in a tower near Gryffindor tower but still a short walk. As they got there, Hermione walked up and easily spot Hedwig. “Hi, girl.” Grabbing some treats, she laid her palm flat for Hedwig to grab a snack. Filling a small pouch with the treats for her parents to give Hedwig as well when Hedwig finished her trip, she tied the letter to her parents to the Snowy Owl’s leg. “Thank you Hedwig. Would you please bring that to my parents? Hampstead Garden, Please.” She ran her hand on Hedwig’s head down to her back, petting her in thanks. “Oh, and please wait for a response if you can. Thank you, pretty girl.” Giving Hedwig one last treat, she smiled as Hedwig took off to deliver the letter. 

As they watched Hedwig take off, Neville pulled Hermione over to a corner of the Owlery where people couldn’t just see in. He pulled her in for a kiss, and she happily complied. Their lips just felt right together. As he pulled away, he noticed something and spoke up. “What’s so funny, Hermione? You can’t seem to stop smiling, even when I kiss you.”

“Oh, nothing’s particularly funny. I just can't help but smile when you kiss me. That is purely your fault, Mr. Longbottom.” She laughed, seeing him start to blush. For him, his blush took over his face. A pale pink flushed over him, spreading to the tips of his ears. It was quite cute and she decided she needed to make him blush more often. “So, back to the common room?”

“Sure,” he spoke, letting her start to lead him out. As she got an arms length away, he continued. “But first…” Pulling her back in, he kissed her one more time, holding her closely, flush against his body. As they pulled away, he was looking up at her and saw her eyes slowly flutter open. 

Neville was certainly a blusher. He blushed fairly easily around Hermione especially. But Hermione? She quite rarely blushed. Or at least, she quite rarely blushed in a way where you could see it. Her skin was too dark for it to be noticeable most of the time. But in that moment, he could swear her cheeks seemed to be a bit rosier and grinned. All he could think in that moment was ‘I need to make her blush more often.’ Neither knew that both of them had decided the same thing, but they started along to the common room all the same.

Saying the password to the portrait of the Fat Lady, the door swung open for them. Hermione went first, but Colin Creevy was directly in front of the portrait with his camera. She stopped short, but Neville couldn’t see Colin ahead of them and crashed into Hermione. Colin jumped out of the way, eager to protect his camera, and he snapped a picture to see who was falling. Hermione and Neville tumbled in, looking at each other for wounds and then laughing quite hard. Neville got up first and offered Hermione a hand. Pulling her up, he almost fell off-balance but Hermione pulled him back up to help him stand. Colin snapped that moment into a picture as well. Noticing the flash that time, Hermione asked to talk to him. Waving goodnight to Neville, who was quite tired from the swimming, she pulled Colin over. “So, Colin. Those two pictures. Might I be able to see them?”

Colin looked scared but nodded, worried they would be torn up. Not everyone liked his picture taking. As a muggleborn, moving pictures like this fascinated him and while he understood that most halfbloods or purebloods were used to them, it was still new and fascinating to him that he could take pictures that so perfectly captured a moment. He passed the prints out to Hermione, who marveled at them. The tumble, worry flashing on their faces as they fell and then the laughter that erupted from them both was beautiful to watch. The moment as she righted him to stand was quite sweet as well, capturing their profiles and the moment as Neville started to blush. She could swear she saw the blush blooming on his face this way. It was wonderful. “Colin, is it possible to have a copy of these? They’re quite brilliant and I’d love to be able to show them to my parents when I go home for break.” 

He nodded. Stunned at her reaction. He wasn’t expecting that. He quite quickly made copies, having mastered the spell for it in his second year when some of his classmates began asking. He was fairly certain it was them taking pity after the basilisk petrified him the year before, but he didn't mind. He had an excuse to use the camera and make people smile with it. He made her two copies of each, knowing how easy it is to lose one. “Oh Colin, could you teach me that spell for the photos? That seems so helpful to have.” Again, he was stunned. The girl in the year above him genuinely wanted to learn something from him? That felt incredible. 

“It’s Imigemino. I had to start with the Gemino spell and transfer it to photographs in a way that it wouldn’t burn when touched. Instead of the usual Gemino arm motions, it’s the same motions for the levitation spell. It lightens the effect so you don't end up with constant duplication. Do you want to try it on one of the pictures on the walls?” 

“Actually, I have a better idea. Ginny?” she called out, seeing Ginny in the common room. Could you help us take a picture? Colin here is always the photographer but never gets to be in a picture and I think it is high time we fix that.” Colin himself blushed at that.

“Of course, Mione. Mind if I hold your camera Colin? I promise not to drop it.” He handed it over, nodding. 

Hermione pulled him to her side and as Ginny snapped a picture, Hermione yelled “Say cheese!” and then broke into laughter with Colin as they both made very silly grins. The picture printed out of them together, yelling ‘Cheese!’ and cracking up together. Hermione grabbed it from Ginny as Colin grabbed his camera back. “Thank you, Ginny.” Turning around, she placed the picture down, and with a swish and a flick, cast “Imigemino!” The picture duplicated perfectly, and she handed the original back to Colin and pocketed the copy. “There. Now you have a picture with you in it to show your parents when you go home too.” With a smile, she waved, saying goodnight to her friends in the common room. She noticed Ginny walking over to Colin to learn the spell herself and smiled, ready to flop into bed and sleep. But first, she cast the silencing charm in her four poster bed and made copies of the pictures of her with Neville. She already had a backup, but now she planned to use the picture of them tumbling as a bookmark and wanted to ensure she would always have at least one copy of both photos. 

She suddenly had an idea and made a copy of each, writing the date and ‘fourth year, Neville and Hermione in the common room’ on the back of both. She packaged up the labeled copies and was set to mail them off to Mrs. Longbottom. She’d mail them out in a few days, hopefully this time when Neville wasn’t with her to make it a surprise. 

At home, Augusta opened the letter from Hermione. Inside, Hermione has written. 

_Hello Mrs. Longbottom._

_I write this to you before our swimming lessons begin. I’m honestly quite anxious to meet you. You are quite important to Neville and I don’t wish to make a bad impression. I don't know which day I will give this to you, but it should be soon._

_I wanted to know if Neville could spend some time at my home during the summer. He could get a chance to see how muggles truly live. I really do like your grandson, Mrs. Longbottom. He means a lot to me._

_If I have handed you this letter, that means either I was too nervous to ask you in person, or you have already said yes. Either way, my address is XX XXXXX Hampstead Garden. I expect my parents to have received their letter regarding this as well in 48 hours. If you have already said yes to the visit or if you plan to say yes, then thank you and my parents have the floo network set up already. The Weasleys were kind enough to take care of that for us with a muggle switch so they could turn it off when not at home. If you wish to owl them yourself or to stop by and talk to them, I only ask that you wait 48 hours as well, just to ensure the owl has reached them and so they are not scared when an unknown woman enters._

_Thank you again and it was lovely to meet you,_ _  
_ _Hermione Granger._

Augusta smiled in her comfy armchair, reading the letter. This girl really was quite impressive. She decided to follow the girl’s advice and decided to pay her parents a visit in a few days. Penning a letter, she mailed one out to the muggle parents of the girl, offering to either stop by and meet or to invite them into her home. Calling her large barn owl down, she tied the letter and mailed it off. 

Later that night, the Grangers were quite startled by the presence of two owls sitting on their bedroom windowsill. They recognised Hedwig, as Hermione had borrowed her before from Harry to write in. The larger dark brown owl however, they did not recognise. Jacqueline Granger got up, leaving her husband Stephen in the bed. Pulling the scroll from Hedwig’s leg and the little pouch, she began to read her daughter’s letter.

_Hello Mum and Dad,_

_All is well here at Hogwarts. I noticed it had been far too long since my last letter and I wished to remedy that._

_Do you remember me telling you about the Yule Ball? I went with my friend Viktor, but I think I really like one of my friends, Neville. I really am starting to fall for him. He’s so sweet and quite kind. I really think you will love him._

_Is there any way I could ask if he can come visit for the summer? Maybe for a week? He has never seen a muggle home and I think he might really enjoy it. Plus, I’d love for you to meet him and see just why I like him so much. I’d ask you two not to tease me so much over this when he’s here, but I already know Dad won’t be able to stop himself._

_If you say yes, then thank you. I am quite excited at this possibility. I really want him to meet you two as well._

_I love you,_ _  
_ _Hermione_

 _P.S._ _  
_ _I’ve talked to his Grandmother. He lives with her. She has already said yes, under the condition that I visit her home for a week when school lets out. She is quite nice as well and I gave her our address to be able to write you as well or floo in to visit. I asked her in the letter I gave her not to surprise you though and to wait a few days to stop by, so she may be writing you a letter for tomorrow._

_Oh, and thank you for the swimming goggles. They were incredibly helpful for Harry to be able to see underwater._

_I love you_

Jackie smiled and laughed at her daughter’s letter and passed it to her husband. Seeing the second owl, she assumed this was likely the grandmother’s owl. Tentatively grabbing the letter from the owl, she noticed both owls stayed and assumed she needed to write letters back. Opening the one from the grandmother, she read this one aloud so her husband could hear it, knowing that he would likely not be able to read the difficult handwriting. 

_Mr and Mrs Granger,_

_I’ve recently had the chance to make acquaintance of your daughter. She is quite the young woman. She held her head high and I’ve taken quite a liking to her._

_She informed me herself of her budding relationship with my boy, and asked if he could visit her during the summer. My terms were she had to visit as well. If you are welcoming to this idea, Arbor is waiting by for you to give him a letter back and we can set a day or time for us to visit each others homes if you want to be certain Miss Granger will be safe here. You can reach my home through the Floo, which your daughter informed me you have set up, by calling for Longbottom Manor._

_If you are accepting of this, please write what day and time would be best for you to meet. I will be able to make my schedule work around yours, since I know muggle jobs do work differently than ours do and I do not wish to interfere with your professions._

_I look forward to hearing back from you and to meeting the parents who raised such a wonderful young girl._

_Augusta Longbottom_

Jackie and Stephen looked at each other and began discussing. Yes, it was scary, the idea of their daughter at her boyfriend’s house during the summer, but she also went to boarding school with him. They couldn’t separate them. But, they could help try to educate them to be safe. Yes, they would be allowed to visit one another. 

Jackie sat herself down at her desk and grabbed a pen and began writing. 

_Mrs. Longbottom,_

_We greatly appreciate your letter. Hermione’s letter just came to us as well._

_Yes, we would love to have your grandson over to visit. We will be free on the weekend. Will this Saturday work for you to floo over and for us to visit you? You may stop by first, and then we can all go to your house to see it as well._

_We greatly look forward to meeting you, and Arbor is an incredibly sweet bird._

_Dr. and Dr. Granger_

She finished penning the letter, and grabbed the pouch from Hedwig’s leg. Hermione always sent owl treats with Hedwig for her to give the bird, but this time she was able to give both birds some treats. Saving the remainder for any future owls, just in case, she tied the letter to Arbor and went to writing one back for Hermione.

_Hermione,_

_Yes._

_We are glad it helped._

_Mum and Dad_

_We love you too_

Having finished the short missive, knowing her daughter would find the short response amusing, she tied the letter to Hedwig’s leg and gave her one last treat, sending her off back to the school.

Later that night, Hedwig landed on the windowsill of Hermione’s dorm room. As she woke in the night to use the bathroom, she saw the snowy owl and walked over. Laughing at her mum’s handwriting, she folded the letter and put it away. Grabbing a treat she kept in the room, she gave Hedwig one and thanked the bird, letting her fly back off to the Owlery. She was officially going to visit Neville during the summer, and he was going to visit her. A grin was plastered on her face as she quickly emptied her bladder and made her way back to bed. This summer was going to be great.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 11 - Year Four**

The weekend came quickly as day turned to night. Unfortunately for Harry, that meant it was almost time for the final task and he had yet to master any of the options to enter the lake for a long period of time. Hermione had taken him while under his invisibility cloak to meet with Viktor Krum, who demanded Harry to simply call him Viktor or Vik while they practiced together in Viktor’s dorm in the Durmstrang boat. Viktor started trying to teach him the bubble-head charm as well as human transfiguration. Both of these were NEWT level though and in subjects that Harry was not particularly strong in. Try as he may, Harry simply could not master either method Viktor had brought him. He was able to produce the smallest of bubbles, but that wouldn’t be enough to continue to breathe in water. It barely covered both nostrils. “I’m sorry Vik, I just don’t think either of these will work for me. I appreciate you trying though” 

“Is okay Harry. At least you can go water in now.”

“I am just worried about what they might take. What if it ends up being my cloak? Or my firebolt?! I don't know what I’d do if someone took my broom, and I don’t know if they would ever give it back if I can’t retrieve it.” Harry looked quite disappointed, sitting himself down on the bed and putting his head in-between his hands. 

Viktor sat down next to his competitor-turned-friend, and draped his arm across Harry’s shoulders, inviting Harry to rest on his own. “I not know what will happen, but I know you will be okay. You have smart. Believe yourself. If need, I can get you the item but you need to just live Harry. We make sure you live, da? I can get item. You just live.” 

Harry felt tears rimming his eyes as he started to blush. He wrapped his arms as far as they could go around Viktor’s torso, barely muttering a “thank you Vik,” into the large man’s chest, who released a booming laugh before wrapping his own arms fully around Harry. Harry may have half of the school against him and people trying to kill him near constantly, but he had people who cared for him. Sometimes, that knowledge alone could be enough and in this moment, it truly was enough.

Later that night, Harry met up with Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Hermione and Neville had multiple books around them and Ron was trying to read as well but got increasingly frustrated. “This is bloody pointless. Why are we still reading and re-reading the same books? We are not going to find anything new or remotely helpful, and the few things Harry did try didn’t work for him. He can't do this task.”

Hermione scowled and spoke up. “Ronald, when we read this many books, sometimes we gloss over something and miss what’s important. That certainly happened to me in second year. It took me until my third re-read of ‘The Dark Beastiary: Animals To Avoid And How To Avoid Them’ to even realize I had missed the section on Basilisks and learned to carry a mirror with me. It wasn’t even originally a mirror;I had to transfigure it from my bookmark. I’m quite glad I did, since it tried to kill me that night too and without that transfigured mirror, I’d be dead. Re-reading can be vitally important.” The scowl never left her face as she remembered second year and thought back on how there was a massive chunk of time she simply would never have memories of, only stories others tell. 

“Well, it just looks like gibberish to me. How anyone can sit and read like this is beyond me.” At Ron’s angry declaration, Hermione realized something. 

“Wait, you said gibberish? Does it look like the letters are all mixed up in the words?”

“Yes! It makes it impossible to read for me.”

“Ronald, that’s called Dyslexia. It’s a real condition and muggles have worked to make certain print types that make it easier to read. We can try to let Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey know. They may know spells to help with this! Harry, mind if I run off with Ron for a bit? I need to go talk to them.”

Ron’s jaw was dropped as Hermione explained that what he went through wasn’t something that only he dealt with. As Harry looked over and saw his friend, he knew they had to go and do this now. He nodded, saying “I’ll see you two later. Go talk to them. Neville, you okay with staying up with me?”

“You know I am, mate. Let's get back to the books.” 

Hermione and Ron ran off, leaving Neville and Harry to their own devices.

“So, it’s tomorrow morning and we have no leads on anything that’ll help.”

“Gee, thanks Neville. Just what I needed to hear.” Harry said, rolling his eyes.

“No, that’s not what I meant. If we have no ideas, maybe someone else will. Wanna go to the kitchens? House elves know a lot more about magic than people think. One may have an idea for you.” Neville stood up, brushing off his trousers. Reaching his hand out to Harry, Harry took it and was pulled up. 

“That sounds like a good idea. Plus, if nothing else, we can get a snack and bring something back for Ron when he and Hermione get back.” The two put their books in a neat stack on one of the tables in the common room with a note saying “Harry’s. Do Not Take Please.”

Making their way to the kitchen portrait, Neville tickled a pear and the doors opened. Harry looked at him in confusion and Neville spoke up. “Gran figured I’d be a Hufflepuff and brought some of her old classmates who were in Hufflepuff over to tell me about the fun things near the common room. I didn’t expect to end up in Gryffindor though, so I don’t usually make trips here, but it can be helpful on nights that I’m up late studying.” Harry nodded and they entered, seeing the plethora of House Elves. 

Scanning the crowd, Harry’s jaw dropped at seeing a familiar elf with various odd clothes. An oversized hat with visible points hiding his ears, a giant shirt saying ‘Manchester Does It Better’ in sweeping print, a single sock on his foot, and a slap bracelet which the elf had seemed to turn into a thick necklace. “Dobby?” Harry called out.

Hearing his name, Dobby turned around and exclaimed “Mr. Potter!” Bounding over as best he could, he grabbed Harry and gave his leg a giant hug. “Oh, thank you for making them free me Mr. Harry Potter!” Stepping back, Dobby continued. “I work for Hogwarts now, I do. I help in the kitchens here. Anything I can do for you?” Dobby looked up with pleading eyes, eager to help. 

“Actually, yes Dobby, thank you. We’d love to get a few sandwiches and some bottles of pumpkin juice to bring back to the Gryffindor common room so Ron, Hermione, Neville and myself can have a late snack. We also had a question for you. Do you know of anything that could let a person breathe underwater or swim underwater for a few hours without air?” Dobby was rapidly writing down what Harry was asking for, prompting the pots, pans, and cutlery to move on their own and start preparing the food. 

As Dobby kept writing and saw he wrote ‘breathe underwater’, he quickly scribbled it out and spoke. “We don’t have things to breathe in water in the kitchens, Mr. Harry Potter, but I know where there is.” With a snap of his fingers, Dobby disappeared and then reappeared again, handing Harry a damp, green plant which looked quite like a giant clump of seaweed, fresh from the ocean. 

Seeing the plant, Neville spoke up. “Wait, is that gillyweed? I never thought I’d see it myself! That’s brilliant Dobby! Thank you.”

Dobby blushed as Harry spoke up. “Wait, what’s gillyweed?”

“Oh, Gillyweed is a plant that lets you breathe underwater for anywhere between an hour and two hours. It gives you gills and makes it easier to swim. I’ve read about it in the book Mad-Eye gave me, but I fully forgot about it until just now. It’s also incredibly hard to come by. I can’t believe Dobby just knew that the school had any! Or anyone that had any for that matter.”

“He used to work for the Malfoys. I can believe he’d know where they had some hiding on the property.” At that, Dobby nodded rapidly while Neville cringed at the idea of anyone or anything working for the Malfoys.

“Ah, no wonder. Thank you Dobby. This is a great help. Harry should actually be able to compete tomorrow, and not just swim a lap around the lake.”

Dobby look like he was ready to beam with pride at the compliments and rushed over to the sandwich station. Grabbing them all and putting them in a kitchen basket, he snapped and the drinks appeared in there. “There we go. Roast beef for Mr. Neville, sweet roast turkey and cheddar for Miss Hermione, three turkey clubs for Mr. Ron with extra bacon both on the sandwiches and on the side, and a thin sliced bacon and steak sandwich for Mr. Harry Potter. All under a stasis charm to stay fresh until the sandwich has a bite taken out of it. I put four pumpkin juice bottles in there as well, charmed to stay cold for you, I did.” Harry looked shocked that Dobby instantly knew his favorite sandwich, and apparently Neville’s favorite as well from the look on his friend’s face. Thanking Dobby for the help with both the gillyweed and the snacks, Harry carried the basket and handed Neville the plant to carry, as Neville seemed fascinated by it and doing so let his friend get a rare chance to truly observe this plant. 

Making it back to the common room, Neville ran up to the dorm and grabbed the book that Mad-Eye gave him at the start of term and a jar. “Mad-Eye makes me a tad uncomfortable so I never really got into this book, but here we go.” Opening the book to the proper chapter, he found the section on gillyweed and read aloud. “‘Gillyweed. Gillyweed is a saltwater plant. Considered an algae, the consumption of this plant gives the user gills and webbs the user’s hands and feet, giving them better control in the water. It thrives in saltwater but is a solitary plant, and is quite rare to find as when one is finally grown and taken, it can take months for a new gillyweed plant to sprout back up. Due to this, most people who look for the plant can never quite find it, as they don't know when it will finally float up to the surface, ready for consumption or to be kept. If one is found, it can be collected in a jar of saltwater or a cutting from the base can be kept in the jar to grow to full size in a few months as long as part of the base is included. Doing so may slightly decrease the amount of time that the remaining Gillyweed will allow the user who consumed it to remain underwater, taking it from two hours of use to at most an hour and a half. To consume for full effects, chew well and swallow. It can take up to ten minutes to work but usually will work within two minutes. Rare cases have users who consumed it remain with webbed toes for up to three months, but this has only happened three times in the recorded medical and herbological history of the gillyweed plant.’ Wow, okay. So, I’ll put it in this jar and aguamenti in some water and just add salt to increase the salinity. When tomorrow morning rolls around, if you don't mind, I may take a cutting since the event is meant to only be an hour in the water according to your egg.”

“Yeah, that’s fine Neville.” Harry spoke as he reached into the basket for his Bacon and Steak sandwich, stealing a slice of bacon from the stash of extra bacon that Dobby added. “I doubt I’d need it for longer than an hour and a half, and having it able to regrow here could prove useful for the future since you can always take another cutting when it is fully regrown and floats, and then start a small collection. You could even sell them when you have enough!”

Neville grinned at the idea, thinking about maybe running a plant shop in the future for potions ingredients he could grow. He started imagining having a flat above the shop or a cottage a few blocks off, where he’d floo home to Hermione’s open arms, making dinner together and chatting idly about their days at work. He imagined she’d maybe be an unspeakable, not able to say much about her job but still able to chat about things outside her department, and maybe he could help her with growing the rarer ingredients they would need in the unspeakable department. Suddenly, he realized he was fully fantasizing about his life in the future with Hermione and blushed. Harry saw this and didn’t know why Neville’s face started flushing, but just took another bite of his sandwich. “You want any of the extra bacon for your roast beef sandwich? It’s brilliant together, honest.” 

“Yeah, sure. Ron and Hermione aren’t back anyway. I may have to steal one of Ron’s sandwiches if they don't get back soon too.” Neville grabbed his roast beef and two slices of the bacon, sliding it between the slices of meat and grinned at the flavors mixing. This might just be his new favorite. Grabbing his pumpkin juice and taking a swig, he grabbed the jar, made the saltwater quickly, and plopped the gillyweed in to keep it fresh so Harry could consume it in the morning and so he could take a small cutting to grow a new one. He liked Harry’s idea of making a collection to sell and loved the ideas it blossomed in his mind. 

Eventually, the boys shrugged at not seeing their friends make it back yet. Harry opened the marauder’s Map and saw that the two were in Dumbledore’s office with Professor McGonagall. Appeased that they were safe and with people who could help Ron, Harry and Neville decided to call it a night, bringing the basket with the uneaten sandwiches and pumpkin juices to their dorm room. They could always eat one of the remaining sandwiches in the morning instead of going to the Great Hall to eat to avoid stares at Harry and questions from Rita Skeeter about Harry’s love life. They each found their beds, put the Gillyweed in it’s jar on the nightstand, and tucked in for bed. 

The next morning, they woke up and Ron wasn’t there. Harry had Neville take the cutting then, summoning a new jar so he could carry the full gillyweed with him and so Neville could start growing a new one. They pulled out the basket and grabbed the sandwiches. Kept under a stasis charm, they were all still freezing cold, as if kept in a muggle refrigerator. Harry took one of Ron’s turkey clubs and Neville took Hermione’s sweet roast turkey with cheddar, adding some bacon to it as well. He discovered he loved sweet turkey and that the saltiness of the bacon as well as the sharp cheddar added an incredible contrast. Opting to save the cold pumpkin juices and other sandwiches in the basket for later, after Harry’s inevitable swim, the boys went off to the Great Hall to have something to drink and to meet up with Ron and Hermione and let them know about the plan for Harry. Ron wasn’t an early waker, but it was possible he got up early today. 

Walking to the Great Hall, Harry wore the swimming costume Neville had loaned him and carried his new prescription swim goggles as well as the gillyweed in its jar in a rucksack. As they walked up to the table, Harry and Neville noticed they couldn’t see Ron’s head in the crowd and they couldn’t see Hermione’s wild curls. Neither of them were there. In a panic, Harry ran up to Cedric, leaving Neville at the table to ask the gryffindors if anyone had seen their friends. 

Running up to Cedric, Harry suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him to a corner away from people. “Are you missing anyone important?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ron and Hermione. They’re both missing. Think. Is there anyone here that you know and care about that is missing from the Great Hall.”

Cedric scanned the room and his face dropped. In a whisper, he spoke. “Cho isn’t here. What’s going on Harry?”

“I think the items we’ve lost isn't just stuff. It’s people. We need to find Fleur and Viktor and warn them. Now!” Harry ran and grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice, downing it before running off with Cedric. 

They first ran into Fleur, who was about to head into the Great Hall. She claimed that she wasn’t worried, as she had nobody at Hogwarts that was of great importance to her, but her face betrayed her as she tried to run through her head of people they may have taken. 

After warning Fleur, they started the run to the Durmstrang boat. Just before making it to the boat, Viktor walked out and saw the two Hogwarts champions running towards him. “Is everything okay?” he jogged up and asked. 

Harry spoke first. “Ron, Hermione, and Cho. They’re missing.”

Cedric quickly interjected. “We think they’re the ‘items’ the egg told us will be stolen. Fleur doesn’t know who would’ve been stolen for her but she seems nervous.”

“We had to warn you and let you know.” As Harry spoke again the second he noticed Cedric taking a breath, Harry saw Viktor’s face scowl.

“Cedric. Cho was date for Yule Ball, da?”

“Yes, she was. Everybody at Hogwarts knows we’ve been dating since last year. It became gossip because we were in different houses.” Cedric spoke, worry obviously marring his face.

“And Harry, Everyone knows Ron is best friend, da?”

“Since our first day. We always get in trouble together. I’d be more surprised if people didn’t know. He can take care of himself but if he didn’t know something was coming, then he could be in trouble. Hermione is one of my best friends too though. She constantly gets in trouble with us”

“No, Hermioninny taken for me. I take her to Yule Ball and people gossip of us. She is only person people know I care for here.” Realization dawned on Harry’s face as Viktor spoke. 

“Vik…, do you have feelings for her?” Harry asked timidly. He let out a breath of air when Viktor shook his head no. 

“No, she is friend. Good friend. Not for me though. Care for her as friend.” Viktor explained in broken english, visibly having trouble focusing on the grammar rules he had learned. The three walked themselves back to the Great Hall, waving at Fleur before sitting. They all sat at different tables and nervously nibbled on toast. None of them could bring themselves to really eat at this point. Their friends and loved ones were taken from them. While Fleur didn’t know who was taken, she was worried just as much as her competitors were. Toast and small sips of pumpkin juice was all the competitors could get themselves to eat. Soon they’d have to rescue their loved ones. For now, it was time to just settle their stomachs. There would be no fighting between each other in the water. Only racing to see their friends again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 12 - Year Four**

The four champions stood next to one another nervously. Harry held his Gillyweed in one hand and his wand in the other as his competitors began their spellcasting. Fleur and Cedric opted for the bubble-head charm and Viktor was going to be transfiguring his head into a shark, as Harry had learned yesterday in the Durmstrang boat from Viktor. Harry and Viktor both needed to wait until they got into the water to do what they needed since they would both have gills and couldn't risk it happening while on dry land, since to do so would leave them both flopping like fish on the wooden platform they stood on. Finally, the buzzer rang out and Cedric and Fleur jumped in immediately, already prepped. Viktor transfigured his own head as he jumped into the water. Harry shoved the gillyweed into his own mouth as the bell rang, chewing furiously. He already had his goggles on and was ready to jump in as soon as he felt himself change. He felt hundreds of curious eyes on him, waiting to enter the water since not doing so was already making him fall behind. Three minutes later, he felt his breathing change and jumped into the water, finally able to breathe again once inside. His hands and feet changed, webbing between the digits. His breaststroke practice would prove to be useful while in the water, using it to dive down easily. 

Harry nimbly avoided the Grindylows, who seemed shocked he was there this long after the other divers. He saw Fleur being attacked by them and tried shooting a spell underwater to attack, but the water changed how the spell arced and missed by a wide margin. Fleur saw him and waved him off, saying the words “Please leave me. I’m wounded. I need to go back up.” He read her lips and looked down. Her leg was bleeding quite a bit and she had bruising already starting. Swimming up, Harry avoiding the Grindylows attacking him and burned the grindylow with the tip of his wand. The grindylow who was holding Fleur recoiled, letting her go. She nodded and mouthed “Thank you” as she swam back up to the surface. Waving his wand around as a threat to the other grindylows, they shrunk back and let him pass, scared to be harmed as well. 

He swam on and found himself outside of a merperson village. Reaching the town borders, the enchanted plants triggered an automatic response to a trespasser and shot out, restraining his left leg. He tried to swim free but was unable to. Remembering the hair cutting spell from second year, he swiped at the angry pondweed. It reacted as he hoped it would, slashing the plant to no longer be attacking him. He swam on and into the village.

Surprisingly, Harry got to the center of the merpeople village first. Looking around, he saw four still figures tied to ropes. Scared, he swam up and looked. On the left he saw Hermione, her wild hair pillowing around her in the water. Next was Cho, whose long locks were waving in the water. Ron was next to her, his vibrant hair standing on end, seeming to have been shocked with electricity. Finally, next to him, there was a small blonde girl, who seemed almost at Hogwarts admittance age. He blanched, realizing they took someone who didn’t seem to even be eleven yet to use for this task. 

Swimming closer, he knew he needed to free Ron but first tried to free Hermione. As he approached her, merpeople swam up holding pitchforks and daggers. “Okay, I can only get Ron then. Got it’ he thought, swimming back and moving over. As he did, Viktor swam up and waved. It was jarring to see Viktor with a large shark head, biting Hermione’s rope to free her. Harry moved to try to untie the knot, forgetting that magic could take care of that for him. As he worked to untie the elaborate knot holding both of Ron’s feet in place, Cedric swam up and used his wand to release Cho, waving at Harry. ‘Oh, right. I have a wand.’ Harry thought to himself and slashed at the ropes, cutting them as he did the plants. He let Ron float up and realized something somberly. Fleur would not be coming for this girl. She had to be rescued.

He quickly swam over and slashed her ropes before the merpeople could attack or protest. Grabbing her, he swam as hard as he could, shooting himself up and out of the water. Bringing the small girl with him over to the wooden platform, Fleur scooped the girl up and hugged her for dear life. Harry saw this happening as his gills started wearing off. ‘Oh, it must have been an hour and a half already,’ he thought. As his gills closed up, Harry raised his head above water to begin breathing through his lungs and mouth again. As he did, Fleur yanked him out of the water and pulled him in for a hug. “Zhank you for saving ma Gabrielle. Je ne sais pas comment ils l'ont emmenée, mais merci. Merci beaucoup, Harry.” She switched over to French in her stress response and Harry didn’t fully understand, but he did know she was thanking him so he just hugged her back as she kissed his cheek in thanks. 

He turned himself around as he felt a towel being thrown on him. Ron was there, covering him in the towel that Ron was previously wearing. “Thanks for saving me. Sorry I never came back last night. Turns out that when McGonagall took us to dumbledore’s office to talk about dyslexia, he put us in a body bind. They were going to summon us all in the morning but we were both there already and apparently us going out and looking for professors made their jobs that much easier.”

Harry winced at the idea of entering Dumbledore’s office only to be put in a body bind. He couldn’t imagine the kindly old man doing something like that, but he knew Ron wouldn’t lie about that. As he was registering what Ron was saying, Hermione walked up as well. “Yep. Professor McGonagall looked shocked to see us both at her office door and took us to Headmaster Dumbledore. We heard them talking after. She was quite angry at him but he then explained that he was ordered to do this to us anyway by the officiates of the Triwizard Tournament. He had to do it to Cho and to Fleur’s sister as well as they were brought in. Flitwick brought Cho first, and Gabrielle flooed in from her home in France and was stunned as she left the fireplace. Quite a rough entrance, especially when she was here to try to watch her sister. Oh, Viktor told me you got to us all first. Why did it take you so long to come up? I know you went for me first since Viktor told me, but you didn't come up as Ron did. Neville was beside himself with worry that he had somehow killed you.” Hermione looked concerned. 

Harry explained that after helping Fleur with the grindylows, he rescued Gabrielle and had to avoid the merpeople when he did. Hermione understood then and nodded, duplicating her towel so Ron would again have one since he gave his up to Harry. 

The three stood together and waited for judgement. Apparently, both Fleur and Viktor spoke to the judges about Harry having helped and trying to save multiple people. Fleur was rescued by him and Viktor technically was first out but Harry was first there, and would have been first if he had only gone for his assigned person. Karkaroff seemed angry that Viktor had spoken on behalf of a competitor, but points were awarded. Viktor would’ve had first if Harry hadn’t rescued two people and tried to rescue a third, but the points ended up being adjusted to reflect that. Harry ended up placing first in the event due to this, putting him and Cedric at a tie for first going into the third task. The shock was clearly evident on Harry’s face, as he went from not even knowing how to swim to suddenly able to complete the task fully. 

The four champions got together later that night to celebrate, ignoring the fact that they were supposedly enemies in this competition. Harry took them to the kitchens and they sat with the house elves, just sitting and relaxing with each other away from the prying eyes of other people as they ate their beef and cabbage, as was prepared for that night’s dinner. The four had swam quite a bit and were famished, downing multiple plates and multiple goblets of pumpkin juice and water. 

While the four champions were mysteriously missing, Ron went back off to talk to Professor McGonagall about potential magical treatment of dyslexia, who brought him back to Dumbledore. Thankfully, Ron wasn’t stunned as he entered the office, and he was able to have a serious talk with them.

When Ron had ran off and Harry was missing, Hermione just sat with Neville and Ginny. The chaos of the day was hopefully over and they could relax. 

After eating dinner with Ginny, Hermione and Neville ran off to the common room. Hermione had already cast a cleaning charm on herself, since they put her in the lake in her full set of robes, but she still didn't feel clean. They were alone in the common room, so Hermione kissed Neville on the cheek and ran up to take a shower. 

In the shower, Hermione did some of her best thinking. It could be so peaceful. She took her time, feeling the water rush over her but barely permeating her hair. She desperately needed a haircut but she didn’t trust herself to do it. She resolved herself to getting one during the Easter holidays, when she visited her parents for a week. There was a special barbershop that specialized on working with black hair, and she didn’t trust going anywhere else but there.

She changed her course of thought from her needing a haircut to thinking about the task. Why did they use people for it? It felt awful, being kept underwater in a semi-conscious state. They had used complex magicks on the four people chosen to be the lost items, making it so they were aware of their surroundings and able to partially see and breathe while appearing completely still. It was terrifying to breathe and not see air leaving your own mouth and to see pitchforks behind you out of the corner of your eye, whether or not it was actually aimed at you. The triwizard champions, for the most part, were aware of the risks when they entered their names into the Goblet of Fire. Nobody else signed on to be involved in that way. They weren’t given an option when they were taken and that felt wrong. Holding herself, she slunk to the floor of the shower and just sat under the running water, feeling sobs wrack through her entire body.

Ginny walked through the portrait into the common room to see Neville pacing. “Careful Neville, you’ll wear the carpet out fully. You alright?”

“Hermione fully disappeared last night and we thought we knew where she was and what she was doing. Then she was gone today too and we realized she was taken. Now she’s gone again in the shower but she’s been up there for an hour and a half.” The words tumbled out of him without conscious effort. In a whisper, he continued. “What if she gets taken again? I’m not strong enough to protect her if something happens.”

Ginny pulled him in for a hug, letting him cry on her shoulder. She walked them over to the couch and sat him down. “Neville, nothing else will happen to her. We already know the last task they will have to do. They announced it in the Great Hall after you two left. It’s a maze, and there will be only the champions in the maze. Nobody else is going to take her.” He nodded slowly. “If you want, I can go up and check on Hermione. I don't know how long we’ll take, but I can try.” He nodded again. 

Ginny gave him one last hug and went up the stairs to the girls dorms. Hearing the shower on in the fourth year bathroom, she entered. “Hermione? It’s just Ginny. Are you okay?” Hearing a sob echo, Ginny threw her outer cloak off and onto the floor and entered the shower still fully dressed in the rest of her clothing. Hermione was sitting on the floor of her shower, the water pounding on her and disguising her tears. Ginny sat next to her and rested her head on Hermione’s shoulder this time. Carefully, so she wouldn't get water in her mouth or nose, she spoke. “Sorry if I’m a bit overdressed, but it seemed like you needed a friend.” Hermione giggled into her sob and at the outrageousness of her friend fully clothed next to her while she was starkers. They sat and talked for a while about the stress of the day, and after about twenty minutes, Hermione felt okay enough to leave the shower. Drying herself off, she also cast a drying charm on Ginny and Ginny helped her grab clothing. She made her way back to Neville quickly and they sat on the couch, Ginny and Neville each leaning on Hermione, whose head was resting atop Neville’s as they slowly fell to sleep in the common room, oblivious to the rest of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAND we are all caught up with the just Neville/Hermione version. Everything in chapters 1-12 is identical to A Secret Dalliance. Starting in Chapter 13, both will start to have deviations. I'll try to update both at the same time in general, to keep them at the same pace. If you are reading one or the other, and want to start reading the other one, just skip 1-12 since they are identical. Chapters 13 and onwards will have the changes and unless you need the refresher, 1-12 will just feel repetitive. 
> 
> Also, a translation for the french Fleur was saying. "I do not know how they took her but thanks. Many thanks."  
> Fun fact - I've spoken French for 13 years. It was my dad's first language but I had to learn it on my own so if my french grammar is off and there are native french speakers, I apologize. I likely won't put Fleur speaking french often though (I only speak English and French, so I will never write Viktor speaking in Bulgarian since I have no concept of whether or not google translate has done a good job at all)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 13 - Year Four**

Hermione woke up on Monday on the couch still, cuddled up with Ginny and Neville. It was rather early still, and she knew that they all needed to get themselves up to their dorms to finish sleeping in their own beds. Hermione woke the others up gently. Well, she woke Neville up gently; Ginny was quite the heavy sleeper. She ended up helping Ginny walk up to her dorm as she waved goodbye to Neville. 

Essentially carrying Ginny into the 3rd year dorms, Hermione led Ginny in before realizing that she didn’t know which four poster bed was Ginny’s. They all had closed curtains and Hermione made an executive decision. Rather than open all of the curtains or going one by one to see if someone was inhabiting a bed, she’d bring Ginny up to Hermione’s. Bringing Ginny a bit further up the stairs, Hermione made it to her dorm. Careful not to wake Parvati or Lavender, Hermione opened the curtains to her own four-poster and rolled Ginny in. Waving her wand, Hermione laid the blankets nicely over Ginny and tucked herself in next to Ginny after closing the curtains to her own four-poster. 

Hermione quickly cast a silencing charm in her own bed, unsure if she remembered Ginny being a snorer or not. She turned to face Ginny and started to really look at her friend. She was absolutely covered in freckles, and they travelled down past her face and onto her collarbones. Hermione started to catch herself wondering just how far the freckles went. She traced the lines of her friend’s arms, seeing them peek out of the short sleeves Ginny had been wearing. They were coated in freckles as well, though her palms seemed to be clear. At least, her right palm was. Her left palm was firmly under the covers and not to be seen.

Ginny quietly hummed in her sleep and turned a bit, almost ending up face down on the bed. It pushed Hermione further to the edge of the bed, but Ginny’s arm draped over Hermione’s body, keeping her firmly in place. Hermione found herself blushing, realizing that she was thinking about Ginny holding her in that moment. As if Ginny could tell exactly what Hermione was thinking about, Ginny pulled Hermione closer to her, the two girls resting their foreheads against one another, though Ginny had no clue. 

Hermione could feel the heat of her face blushing and opted to turn around, facing away from Ginny. That helped her even less as she felt Ginny’s body molded against hers. ‘Stop it Hermione, you slag. You have a boyfriend. You cannot be thinking about one of your best friends like this. You have a boyfriend. You have a boyfriend. You have a boyfriend.’ She chanted to herself in her mind, terrified to turn back over and face Ginny. Realizing that she likely would not be able to sleep that night, she resolved herself to visiting Madame Pomfrey in the morning. Maybe this was just a stress response. Madame Pomfrey would surely know if it was.

Hermione’s alarm sounded all too quickly for Ginny, though it felt like an eternity to Hermione. Hermione finally turned back around to look at Ginny as she heard Ginny grumble about “that bloody noise… somebody turn it off”. Her face had stayed flush all night and turning around, she felt the heat stay with a renewed vigor. 

“Good morning Ginny.”

“G’morning,” Ginny said with a yawn, leaning forwards and resting her forehead on Hermione’s again, this time while semi-awake. Feeling the heat, Ginny’s eyes fully opened. “Uh, Mione? Why are we in bed together?”

“I didn’t know which bed was yours so I dragged you to mine when I woke up at around 4am. We fell asleep in the common room with Neville.”

“Well, that explains that. Next question. Why are you so hot?” Hermione was confused by the question, thinking Ginny had just decided to blatantly flirt with her, when Ginny put a hand to her own forehead and the other to Hermione’s forehead. “You’re burning up Mione. We need to get you to Madame Pomfrey.”

Hermione was about to protest when she realized she had planned to go there anyway and stayed quiet. Ginny borrowed some clothing from Hermione’s dresser with her permission and had Hermione place an arm over her shoulder. Lavender woke up during the rush and saw Ginny walk from Hermione’s bed. “Ginny? Is there a new relationship we should know about? Congrats if so.”

“No, but thank you? Hermione didn’t know which bed was mine last night and brought me here, but she’s burning up. I think she has a fever. Mind if you tell the boys for me so I can bring her to Madame Pomfrey and they know where she is? You know Harry would kill me if anything happened to her.” 

“Merlin’s beard, of course Ginny. Go get her to the Medical Wing. I’ll make sure Harry knows.” 

Ginny smiled and nodded at Lavender, and quickly threw Hermione’s arm over her shoulders, picking her up and carrying her bridal style. At the stairs, she helped Hermione down carefully before continuing once they left the common room. 

Hermione was honestly shocked that Ginny could carry her at first, but it made sense. She knew how devoted Ginny was to practicing quidditch, and her upper body was insanely strong. She felt bad for not telling Ginny that it was a misunderstanding, but this gave her a good excuse to get to the medical wing anyway. 

They made it there quite easily and knocked on the doors of the wing. Madame Pomfrey opened it and saw someone being carried and instantly levitated them over to a bed. Once she saw it was Hermione, questions instantly started being asked. Ginny spoke up, apologizing to Hermione first in case she said something sensitive about last night but knowing honesty was needed in the presence of Healers. She explained how Hermione was in the lake yesterday for the task and then the following breakdown in the shower, sitting in there for almost two hours. 

When the story was over, Ginny grabbed Hermione’s hand and held it as Madame Pomfrey ran diagnostic tests. When they came back saying Hermione did indeed have a fever, Hermione was honestly shocked. She didn’t even realize that she genuinely felt weak. She spoke up, saying “Cho Chang, Ron Weasley, and Gabrielle Delacoeur were in the lake as well for the task. I don't know how they handled yesterday. They may be sick as well, as well as the champions. It may be worth summoning them to check. I didn't even realize I was ill when Ginny dragged me here.” Ginny’s jaw dropped. Hermione had been so compliant. She didn't realize that Hermione may have been too weak to even think critically about being sick. The girls watched as Madame Pomfrey sent off a patronus to collect the champions and the people who were in the lake, a beautiful egret fluttering its wings and taking off to make multiple stops to collect everyone for observation. Not all of them were students at Hogwarts but they could be ill, and she was determined to treat them. 

Realizing the hospital wing would soon be crowded, she asked Ginny to leave. 

“But Madame Pomfrey, can’t I stay?”

“It’s okay Ginny. I’ll be fine,” Hermione said weakly. Patting Hermione’s hand, Ginny nodded and somberly walked out. Just in case the news hadn’t gotten from Harry to Neville, since Harry didn’t know Neville was dating Hermione, Ginny decided to go and tell him herself.

As Ginny left, Madame Pomfrey came over to perform more diagnostics. “You said you didn’t know you were ill?”

“No Ma’am. To be quite honest, I had ulterior motives for wanting to come here today. I think I needed someone to talk to about stress responses after yesterday, and you felt like the right person to talk to. Would you mind?” 

Madame Pomfrey took a seat on the foot of the bed and nodded to Hermione. “Go on.”

“To be honest, I recently started dating someone. Neville. He brought me here when my teeth were made to grow rapidly about a week ago?”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Longbottom. I had an inkling, but I trust you, Miss Granger and decided to let him stay with you that day.”

“I do thank you for that, Madame Pomfrey. But I was wondering. Can a stress response draw you to another person?”

“I’m not quite sure I know what you mean.”

“A few days ago, Ginny kissed me in front of quite a lot of people to help dispel rumors, since the Prophet has been having a field day with me. She knows I’m dating Neville and is the only one who does aside from my parents, Neville’s Gran, Viktor, and now you. Last night though, after she found me crying in the shower after the shock of the previous night and the Lake, we fell asleep on the couch. The three of us, I mean, Neville, Ginny and I. We woke up quite early but Ginny is dead weight when still in any form of sleep, and I brought her up to my dorm since I didn’t know which bed was hers. Or at least, that’s what I told myself. She slept in my bed and I kept tossing and turning, feeling guilty as I tried to count her freckles and imagined her kissing me when she tossed her arm over me in her sleep. I know I quite like Neville and I can’t imagine not being with him now that I have him. How can I like Ginny too?” Hermione buried her face in her hands, feeling unbelievable guilt. Madame Pomfret pulled her in, rubbing her hand over Hermione’s back lightly for support.

“It seems to me that you’re drawn to them both?” At Hermione’s shameful nod, Madame Pomfrey continued. “Oh, dear girl, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Quite honestly, Triads are far more common in the wizarding world than you’d think. You might need to talk to them both about this, but if you truly feel a pull to them both, then it is worth finding out.” Madame Pomfrey spoke with a smile. 

“They are?”

“Very much so. I myself am in one and have been since my school days here. I met my wives in this very wing, as we all ended up here after various injuries. A classmate blew up our shared cauldron in potions, Winnifred crashed her broom during quidditch practice and needed her arm to be fixed, and Louisa had gotten into an unsanctioned duel and needed to have her lip fixed. She was hit with the same spell you were last week, but her lip came clean off.”

“So that’s how you knew how much longer it took to heal when the lip was removed compared to just punctured!” Madame Pomfrey nodded. 

“It’s not a common spell to use in duels, but I never forgot it. Winnifred was healed the fastest. All she needed was an episky, but the quidditch instructor felt uncomfortable with healing her. I was next, but Louisa stayed here for almost a week. We continued to come back, day after day. It didn’t matter that we all were from different houses. Winnifred made her way here from the dungeons, I found my way here from the Hufflepuff commons, and we all stayed whenever we could as our new Ravenclaw friend was stuck here. Winnifred realized her feelings first and anxiously told us. Slytherins are not known for being brave, but it must’ve taken an incredible amount of courage to tell us her feelings that day. It took Louisa and myself some time to think about what we wanted but we quickly realized that all we wanted was each other. The three of us. We haven’t gone back since, and I still love them with all of my heart.”

Hermione wiped a tear from her eye. “That’s beautiful, Madame Pomfrey. Thank you for trusting me enough to share that.”

“Of course, dear girl. I may not have been as innately wise as Louisa, but it didn’t take much to tell that hearing a similar story would be beneficial to you. If you care for the girl, don’t let her go without a fight but make sure to stay honest with your current partner. For now though, let's get some potions into you. You’ll be staying the whole day, and no protests. Healer’s orders.” As Madame Pomfrey finished speaking, the doors to the Medical Wing opened and Harry and Ron walked in with Cedric. Madame Pomfrey stepped from Hermione’s bed and went to perform diagnostics on the boys who had just entered as Hermione waved to them. Getting positive readings on all three, she sent them to their own beds and began grabbing more potions and started writing up notes to be popped into the offices of their respective Heads of House. 

Slowly but surely, all of the competitors and people from the lake were brought in and indeed were ill. Fleur asked and got permission for Gabrielle’s bed to be joined with hers to stay close to her sister, and Viktor looked grumpy across the hall, clearly upset to be stuck in a bed all day. Any time he tried to get up, he would get pushed back down with wordless magic from the Healer, who reminded him that while the potions would make him feel better now, they could still wear off and he needed to stay for observation until the day was up to be certain he was actually all better. 

Harry, still pleased to be able to perform the Accio spell, summoned Ron’s Wizarding Chess board as well as Exploding Snap. Ron, Harry, Cedric, and Krum had adjoining beds and took turns rotating who sat where to be able to play Wizarding Chess against Ron. As one battled Ron, the other two played a game. Cho looked very put-out about it all, sitting across from her boyfriend but unable to go cuddle with him. Hermione simply sat there having summoned one of her books. Today, she summoned a muggle book, opting for a Sherlock Holmes story. She was too anxious to study today and opted to lose herself in the world of fiction.

Eventually, visitors were let in. They had to be allowed by the people inside though, so while there was a crowd wanting to be let in, very few could actually enter. One of Cedric’s dormmates was let in, who brought in some food for Cedric from the kitchens. Cho’s roommate, Marietta, was let in so the two could gossip. They closed Cho’s curtains and cast a silencing charm, as nothing could be heard from them. Dean and Seamus entered to sit with Harry and Ron, and Neville made his way in as well. The ward was warded to keep unwanted visitors out, so no others could enter. Not even a little beetle, which bounced off of the wards. Hermione saw Ginny outside looking distraught at not being let in, and she mouthed ‘Later’ to the girl, who nodded, realizing she probably wanted time with her boyfriend. Ginny headed off as Neville closed the curtains for Hermione. Madame Pomfrey nodded as the curtains closed, and Hermione knew what was coming. She had to give Neville ‘the talk.’ This potentially could be a disaster, and Hermione felt her heart caught in her throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I have yet to update ch13 of ASD, but this whole scene was just BEGGING to be typed out and I couldn't wait to post it until Ch13 of ASD was written. 
> 
> Also, yes, I made Madame Pomfrey be in a triad and be very gay. I feel like it is incredibly rare to get to meet an old gay person and when you do, it feels like you've found the reason to keep going because they were able to. They survived the entire time and if they can, you can too. It'll never be explicitly stated if she's Pan, Bi, purely a Lesbian... Her also being in a triad gave Hermione strength to feel safe about it. She not only got to meet an old gay woman, but a triad member who is still with their partners. To someone who may be shocked about the revelations about her sexuality and who is shocked about attraction to more than one person, since in the 90s, polyamory was not as commonplace or well known in the muggle world, having an old gay triad member to confide in would be the holy grail. It felt deeply important to write (and I wish I had someone like that when I realized how gay I was and when I realized how awful monogamy was to me and how freeing and *right* polyamory felt, whether it means my partners date each other or whether they date others). 
> 
> It felt important to give her that. Wizards may be open sexually and I'm writing this with the assumption that homophobia is not present in the wizarding world, so Ginny and Neville wouldn't be shocked at all if Hermione was bi or pan or at the idea of a triad in general, but Hermione would likely have internalized homophobia from the muggle world and internalized fear about even liking more than one person. I know how I felt when I realized all of that about myself, and decided I wanted it to reflect my experiences and what I wished it could've been like and how I wished the world treated it. Being a queer woman with multiple partners can attract the wrong kind of attention, and I can't change myself, but in a perfect world, I wouldn't even be thinking that I wished I could. 
> 
> If any of this resonates with any readers, know that you are not alone. Whether the thoughts of polyamory are swirling around or whether you may be anywhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, fighting with your identity, with how the world sees you vs how you see yourself, or scared to be yourself - know you are not alone. Life can suck, and while people tend to simply say "it gets better," the honest truth is that first, it can get harder, scarier, or worse before it gets better. Dont be discouraged if things aren't going better yet. It will soon. You are not alone. We have walked this road before and you will not be the last to. And if you struggle to imagine it getting better, then live in spite of those who would see you fall and live to one day be the old gay, able to impart wisdom and show people that you *can* make it that long as yourself. You got this. I believe in you.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a humble reminder that I do not own this universe or the characters contained within - this is purely fanfiction. I am no longer a fan of the author of the original series but writing fanfiction is my reclaiming of the properties that she would have otherwise tainted for us. If you do not agree with any form of HP media still being created, that is your choice. My choice is to still create for this world which means so much to me without bringing *her* any revenue from it.

**Chapter 14 - Year Four**

Hermione smiled weakly at Neville, gently muttering “Hi” to him. She sounded weak, and Neville’s face dropped at the realization that she could be far sicker than anyone expected. 

“Are… are you okay Hermione?” Neville asked worriedly, scanning her face for any signs of anything being wrong. He wasn’t happy when she didn’t fully meet his gaze, so he made a decision. “Scoot over.” In a mixture of shock and confusion, Hermione turned on her side and moved to one end of the bed as Neville climbed in and laid on his side, facing her. “There. I’ll stay above the covers, but I’ll be right here for you, okay Hermione?” 

Hermione smiled at her boyfriend and nodded, grabbing his hand. Her stomach was lurching in guilt though and she quickly flipped herself over and grabbed the trash bin which was beside her bed, luckily on her side of the hospital bed, as she felt bile rise and expel itself from her. Neville held her hair back for her and cancelled the silencing charm, calling for Madame Pomfrey. The matron and Neville worked together, scourgifying the bile from the area.

Hermione quickly grabbed her wand and cast a cleaning charm in her own mouth, hopeful to remove the vile scent and taste from her mouth. It was a far cry from her muggle toothbrush, but for now, she’d take what she could get. She muttered an “I’m sorry,” leaning back into Neville’s form on the bed after they had re-closed the curtains and recast the silencing charm.

Neville got a very stern look on his face, and Hermione immediately imagined him as an adult looking at a student with that face as a teacher and forced herself to suppress a giggle at the thought. “You have absolutely no reason to be sorry. You’re sick. It happens. I’m glad I’m able to help.” 

Hermione’s stomach lurched again with guilt, and she realized she just had to own up and say it. “Honestly, that’s not what I’m sorry about.”

Concern simply marred his face. “Oh, what is it then? Is there anything I can do to help?”

Hermione grabbed Neville’s hand, and tried to gather the strength to speak. “I’ve been thinking… you know how I get when I overthink. I just, oh merlin this is hard to say.”

Neville’s face dropped at that, and he whispered out. “...are you breaking up with me?” 

Hermione looked angry at that thought and spoke loudly and clearly. “Neville Longbottom, get that thought out of your head right now. I am not breaking up with you.” At that, he looked relieved but Hermione continued, this time far quieter. “But I don't know if you’ll want to break up with me when I explain.”

Neville looked pained, but held her hand. “Talk to me, Hermione. What’s going on?”

Taking a big breath in, Hermione spoke quietly. “I absolutely adore you but I’m starting to have feelings for someone else as well, and I have absolutely no idea if they’d even feel that way about me or if you’d be open to the idea of a magical triad, or if you are if you’d even feel open to the idea of adding them into the mix and I have absolutely no idea about protocall in this situation because I hadn’t even heard of triads being a thing in the muggle world and suddenly I’m being told that it happens here in the wizarding world and it isn't something to be ashamed of but I don’t even know how you’d feel about it at ALL and I’m rambling, aren’t I?” 

Neville looked shocked at her, and spoke. “…so, you don’t want to break up with me? You just want to talk about adding someone to the mix? It adds a few elements we would have to balance since you wanted to keep it secret, but I’d be okay with discussing this. Who is he?” Neville asked, genuine curiosity on his face. 

“Actually, it’s Ginny.” Hermione muttered quickly, burying her face into Neville’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead gently. 

“Her kiss last week was that good, eh?” He spoke with an obvious grin, the smile in his voice was easy to hear. 

“Well, yes, but last night I had her in my bed since I didn’t know which bed was hers in her dorm, and I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her again as she turned and threw an arm over me in the night. I could barely sleep, Neville! I spent my time counting the freckles on her face. I counted over two hundred before she turned and I lost my place and started counting the freckles on the arm that I could suddenly see. I didn’t even know I liked girls until then. I don't really know if I like girls in general or if this is just a crush on Ginny, but I had to fight from just leaning over and kissing her.” 

As Hermione finally came up for air from her rambling again, Neville gently grabbed her chin. He kissed her right cheek, then her left, and finally her forehead again. Hermione’s eyes closed with bated breath as he chuckled, prompting her to pout and open her eyes. He chuckled and started to speak. “So, you still like me? And you felt yourself desperate to kiss me just now?” She nodded as he continued. “And you felt yourself desperate to kiss her as well?” She nodded again. “I think I’ll try to put this in a way that’ll make more sense to you. You know how you were telling me about muggle arithmetic? How there are some numbers that have decimals that go forever?”

“Oh, there’s two types of those. Do you mean ones that go forever and repeat, or ones that go forever but never repeat, like Pi?”

“The Pie one. You told me last year about it when you started arithmancy. You told me about how because the numbers never repeat, the decimal places can’t be counted. And since they can’t be counted, it is considered to have an infinite number of decimals?”

“Yes, you remembered! It is not quantifiable.”

“Well, wizards see love that way too. We can’t quantify love, so it must be infinite too, right? As long as people are honest with their partners, you’ll see people with only one partner and you’ll see people with dozens of partners. The larger numbers are a lot rarer, but triads are nothing to be shocked about here. Besides, Ginny is quite cute, isn't she?” 

Hermione felt her face flush at that, whether or not it was visible. She figured it wasn’t because she had the fever still, but she suddenly saw Neville blush as well and realized it may have been more visible than she thought. 

“I say go for it Hermione. If you want, I can give you some time to think here and go get Ginny for you. The professors cancelled classes for the day since so many people were suddenly ill after the task, opting to let you all feel better first. I am sure I can find Ginny and send her in. I don’t have to tell her what we talked about, so you can find the strength to do it yourself.”

“Thank you, Neville. I’d like that. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Very much so.” Placing one more kiss on her forehead and then a quick peck on the lips, he shuffled off of the bed itself. “I’m off to go find her. I’ll walk her in but give you some space to talk, okay?”

Nodding, Hermione spoke. “Thank you, Neville. I’m incredibly grateful for how you helped talk that out and helped me handle my thoughts. Go get our girl.”

“Our girl, eh? I like the sound of that.” Neville grinned before opening the curtains and bounding out, on the search for Ginny. 

Seeing him leave, Madame Pomfrey walked up. “He looked quite pleased, didn’t he? I assume the talk went well?”

“Incredibly. Thank you, Madame Pomfrey.”

“Oh please, I know I am still your healer for the day, but do call me Poppy. You’re welcome to stop in and talk any time if you need. I must get back to making rounds and checking on everyone, but if you ever find yourself needing to talk it out, I’m here.” Madame Pomfrey walked off, closing Hermione’s curtains for her. 

About twenty minutes later, Neville came back with Ginny. Opening the doors to the hall, they both passed through the barrier without issue. Neville opened the curtain slightly for Ginny to enter, quickly saying “I’ll give you some space to talk,” before closing it behind Ginny. 

Ginny sat herself down on the bed to talk to Hermione. Grabbing the sick girl’s hand, she started talking. “Are you o-KAYYY” 

In that moment, she was unable to finish speaking, as Hermione had grabbed Ginny’s hand and pulled her down onto the bed fully with her. With a thud on the pillow, the girls giggled before casting the silencing charms around the curtain, realizing people probably heard that. “I’m going to try that again, now. Are you okay Mione?”

Laying flat on her back, Hermione stared at the ceiling as she spoke. “Yeah, I’m okay Gin. I vomited a bit earlier, but I think that’s all out of my system and I cast the cleaning charm on myself so my breath isn’t completely awful. Neville had to deal with holding my hair back earlier when it happened, unfortunately. He was a good sport about it, but I wish it hadn't needed to have happened.”

Ginny looked shocked as she spoke. “Wow, I’m glad I brought you here then. From how full the hall is, it seems you weren’t the only ill one.” 

“Honestly, I’m fairly certain the others are probably fine. They’re mostly playing around right now. I think Madame Pomfrey kept us all here to have a day off after the stress of yesterday, but I doubt she’d admit it. Harry and Ron especially are enjoying their long weekend over there. I keep hearing the exploding snap game.” Hermione and Ginny giggled again as, like clockwork, an exploding snap went off not even two seconds after Hermione had said the name of the game. Hermione took a deep breath and decided to turn, no longer facing the ceiling and instead staring at Ginny’s face. Stopping herself from counting freckles again, she took a deep breath. Ginny was so close to her and it would be so incredibly easy to just lean forwards and kiss her. Losing her resolve, she felt herself talk before she even realized what she had said. “Mind if we cuddle?” 

Ginny didn’t even reply, simply pulling Hermione in to hold her. Neither girl flipped over, instead they cuddled face to face. Hermione wanted to talk seriously about what was going on, but quickly fell asleep in Ginny’s arms in the bed.

About an hour later, Neville had come back to check on them and saw Ginny holding a very asleep Hermione. He walked over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead as Ginny smiled at him. He whispered “I’ll be over with Harry and Ron for now. Let her know I’m here when she wakes up.” Ginny nodded, not wanting to talk and wake Hermione up and Neville walked out, leaving the girls to rest. He went over to his friends on the other side of the hall and played a game of wizarding chess. While nobody could beat Ron, it was still fun to be able to play and it kept his mind off of things for a while.

While playing, Ron started talking. “So, you’ve been hanging out with Hermione quite a bit, huh?”

Neville felt multiple eyes on him and knew he had to act fast. He didn’t like lying, but Hermione had asked him to keep things quiet, so he was going to try. “Yes, but she and I have been friends since the train in our first year. She was the only one to help me try to find Trevor. You and Harry may have stolen her away a fair bit since then, but we’ve always been friends. She is my best friend, after all.”

Ron stammered at this. “B-but, we’re the Golden Trio!”

At that, Harry thwacked Ron in the chest and turned to Neville. “Sorry mate, Ron has this unfortunate habit of sticking his foot in his mouth.” Both Neville and Ron looked confused at the muggle idiom, but Harry either didn’t notice or paid no mind. “I think what he means is, he’s used to it being the three of us, and seeing her hang out with any one person besides one of us this much feels a bit odd.”

“Neither of you noticed her much except to tease her before Halloween first year. Believe it or not, she talked to me then, and while you all were off getting in trouble, we’d spend time together studying and talking. You three may go on the adventures, but that doesn’t change that she is my best friend. I might not be hers, but she is mine.” Neville felt himself getting fiercely protective in this moment, and Harry started trying to get Ron to back down. Ron eventually did, but he still commented.

“Well, alright then Neville. I just thought with how much you were with her, maybe you were together or something or know who she likes.” Two beds over, Viktor stiffened, not wanting the extra attention. 

Neville noticed but didn’t look over. Instead, he spoke plainly. “Who Hermione might like or date is entirely her business. I have been lucky enough to be trusted with the information on who she is interested in, and I will not betray her trust. If you wish to find out, you need to be someone who she trusts enough in this regard to find out yourself.” Ron started turning red, fuming with anger. “And you have no right to be mad if she does not tell you. It is her life and it is fully her choice to tell who she wishes. Strive to be someone she can confide in, and maybe one day, she will. Until then, if you want to know, be someone who is a good enough friend to warrant knowing and you will not be asking me any longer. I am not your messenger owl and you can either ask her yourself or hope she tells you. You are not to ask now though as she is asleep, and she will hex your bollocks off if you wake her now.” Neville got up and strode back over to Hermione’s bedside, leaving Ron to his anger. 

Pulling the curtains open, he smiled at the two girls who had now both fallen asleep in each other’s arms. He noticed though that Hermione seemed to be shivering and called Madame Pomfrey over. 

Seeing her current state, Madame Pomfrey grabbed multiple vials of potions from across the room in the storeroom and rushed them over. The boys watched as the Matron hurried over at Neville’s behest and blanched, realizing that Hermione must be far more ill than most of the other inhabitants of the medical ward. Harry and Ron were enjoying their day off and Ron was berating one of their dormmates for info, while their dormmate was trying to help someone who was meant to be their best friend. Both boys felt thoroughly chastised, and while Harry stopped playing around, Ron doubled down in Wizarding Chess. He began angrily challenging anyone who walked near him, who all pointedly avoided playing. Ending up playing himself, Ron grumbled in his own hospital bed, feeling quite angry about being told he was in the wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hermione...  
> You gotta stop putting it off and TELL THE GIRL YOU LIKE HER
> 
> Wait, I'm the author? ME?!? Dang it, I need to write it to happen that way myself. 
> 
> (I always reread the chapter I wrote before I hit publish, and it feels like I'm reading someone else's story until I see that I'm the one editing it and remember that. Oops. If I want plot to happen, I gotta make it happen)


End file.
